Philippines to China: Cooperation, not confrontation

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has raised with China the need for cooperation rather than confrontation in the West Philippine Sea.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the other day that he brought up with Beijing President Duterte’s concern about the Chinese Navy’s warning to a Philippine military aircraft while it was patrolling the West Philippine Sea last Aug. 10.

The BBC reported that the Chinese military threatened the Philippine aircraft flying over the disputed South China Sea and warned the plane would “bear the responsibility for all the consequences” if it did not leave the area.

He said while the situation is now better in the West Philippine Sea, there is much more potential for cooperation which includes fisheries, environment and (oil) exploration and development.

He said during a recent meeting with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi  and other Chinese officials the urgency of completing  projects in the West Philippine Sea during President Duterte’s  six-year term.

“The joint (gas and oil) exploration can be done quite quickly in a year or less than a year,” he saId.

“We talked about some of the details (of the projects). We agreed not to have a deadline but we agreed to work on it with an ASAP (as soon as possible) mentality so that we can get it done,” Cayetano told reporters.

He expressed optimism that a framework for the joint sea exploration would be signed in Beijing next month.

Diplomatic protests

Meanwhile, Cayetano said he would resign as the country’s top diplomat if it is proven that the 50 to 100 diplomatic protests filed against China under the Duterte administration were only a “figment of his imagination.”

Irked by doubts and questions on the diplomatic protests Manila has filed against China, he dared Sen. Risa Hontiveros to resign if the number of protests he stated is proven accurate.

Cirtics of the Duterte administration, he said, were “burned” from wrong information in the past, pointing to Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano, claiming that patrols in the West Philippine Sea had ceased.

As his word war with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Alejano heated up in June, Cayetano said he wished lightning would strike the one among them peddling lies about developments in the West Philippine Sea.

Positive remark

In another development, China lauded Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III for his positive remark that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative is a powerful idea which could be an engine for global growth.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the Philippines is China’s “friendly close neighbor and an important partner for the building of the Belt and Road.”

Dominguez headed the Cabinet economic team that visited China the other week.