Noy-Hu meeting at APEC fails to push through

RUSSKY ISLAND, Vladivostok – Due to the inability to find a common time when both leaders would be available, the scheduled meeting between President Aquino and Chinese leader Hu Jintao did not push through here yesterday at the sidelines of the 20th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario told Manila-based reporters in a briefing that the Chinese leader could not accommodate Aquino on the available schedule the Department of Foreign Affairs had set for the purpose.

“We gave them the dates and the times when we would be open and we asked them to look at that, but it doesn’t jibe with theirs. We didn’t realize this but now it’s looking like it may not happen,” he said yesterday morning.

Aquino had two bilateral meetings here yesterday morning, first with Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang and later with Prime Minister Abdul Razak of Malaysia, who are both also claimants to the Spratly Islands, along with Philippines, China, Brunei and Taiwan.

The Philippine delegation left this coastal city at 4 p.m. (1 p.m. Manila time) yesterday.

“I think that a lot could have been achieved in terms of a meeting between the leaders, for them to be able to share the various points of view, and I think that this probably is not only a downside for the Philippines but also for China,” Del Rosario said. 

The secretary pointed out the meeting could have been a “good opportunity for the leaders to be able to exchange views freely.”

Del Rosario and his counterpart agreed that the two leaders should meet at APEC in a format approved by both parties. “So, it just came to a scheduling challenge but as you can see, it turned out to be a bigger challenge than we anticipated.” 

ºThe Philippines and China are locked in a diplomatic row over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which Beijing claims is its territory.

In a sit-down interview with reporters, Aquino said he wanted a “frank exchange of thoughts” with Hu.

“So that we could understand where they’re coming from and they could understand where we’re coming from, and hopefully, it will lead to an understanding,” he said.

Aquino said Manila’s diplomatic ties with Beijing could not be considered a “warmed up” relationship just yet, particularly after his August 2011 state visit to China, and after Ambassador Sonia Brady suffered a stroke.

“It’s less cold than what it was at least. It’s just unfortunate to have missed an opportunity like this, to have a frank exchange of ideas. We hope that it will still push through (some other time),” he said.