Del Rosario flies to Beijing to visit Brady

MANILA, Philippines - Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario flew to Beijing on Saturday primarily to visit Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez said Del Rosario met on Saturday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi while he was in Beijing and discussed with his counterpart “issues of mutual concern.”

He said discussions between Del Rosario and Yang were productive and issues of mutual concern were discussed in a positive atmosphere but did not elaborate.

Del Rosario held talks with his Chinese counterpart in their first meeting since a standoff between China and the Philippines over Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal began in April.

“Secretary Del Rosario went to Beijing primarily to visit Ambassador Brady,” Hernandez said.

He said Brady, 71, is recovering well after a stroke and her condition is continuously being monitored.

Deputy Chief of Mission Alex Chua of the Philippine embassy in Beijing will take over the affairs of the embassy while Brady is in the hospital.

Brady, a retired career foreign service officer, had no problems hurdling her confirmation hearing because of her extensive experience as a former ambassador to China and undersecretary for policy of the DFA.

She breezed through the CA because of the urgency of sending an official representative of the country to China amid a tense standoff between the Philippines and China over the disputed shoal in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

China welcomed the appointment of Brady.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Liu Weimin said the appointment of Brady would help the Philippines and China enhance communication through diplomatic channels.

President Aquino named Brady as ambassador to China last May as Manila and Beijing were locked in a territorial row over Panatag Shoal.

In March, Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing said China was hopeful that the Philippines would have an ambassador to Beijing to facilitate communication between the two countries.

Ma said it is inconvenient to convey a message to the Philippines who was not represented by an ambassador after Francisco Benedicto resigned last year.