Xi Jinping pushes maritime mechanism for Philippines fishers

MANILA, Philippines — Chinese President Xi Jinping has proposed the establishment of a mechanism for coordination between Philippines and China that will promote cooperation in disputed waters so that Filipino fishermen will not be harassed.

Xi also vowed to transform the disputed South China Sea into a “sea of friendship and cooperation” during his meeting with leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives yesterday.

Xi met with Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo shortly before departing after a two-day state visit in the country.

Sotto said they spoke about strengthening the inter-parliamentary relations of the National People’s Congress of China and the Congress of the Philippines.

“What struck me really was when President Xi Jinping was speaking, he stressed that the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea is a sea of friendship and cooperation that creates a bond of friendship for the two nations,” Sotto said.

“This means there is really no intention on their part to show or speak negatively on our relationship and issues on the West Philippine Sea,” Sotto added.

During their meeting, Sotto stressed the importance of good diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China and emphasized there is certainly much more that binds the two countries than what may divide them.

He said Xi laid down to congressional leaders his future plans for Filipinos, which include increasing job opportunities for Filipino teachers and nurses; multiplying mutual visits from one million to two million; and opening up free trade to the Philippines, among others.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was present during the meeting, said Xi told them he could not forget the visit of the late president Corazon Aquino to Fujian as he was vice mayor of the city at the time.

Nothing to worry about

The latest Social Weather Station (SWS) results showed 84 percent of Filipinos were dissatisfied with President Duterte’s handling of Chinese intrusion and militarization of its occupied areas in the West Philippine Sea.

Three formerly obscure maritime features are among the seven areas occupied by China in the disputed region.

These are Subi (Zamora), Mischief (Panganiban) and Fiery Cross (Kagitingan) reefs.

These maritime features are already “militarized” despite earlier assurance from Chinese leaders that all its previous activities in the area are for civilian purposes only.

The presence of the military structures over the Chinese-occupied areas proved highly difficult for the Philippine military to identify and confirm which of them are the supposed weather stations that Chinese media have recently reported.

In a media briefing, Defense Secretary Delfn Lorenzana said the military is still verifying the reports that weather stations have been built there.

If media reports are true, Lorenzana said there’s nothing to worry about since the radar stations there are built for maritime and air navigational purposes.

“What’s wrong with those weather stations,” he said.

Lorenzana doubted the motive behind the release of the SWS results on the eve of the Chinese leader’s two-day state visit.

He said one could manipulate survey results to suit one’s conclusion.

“I doubt the results of the survey. You can manipulate the survey to suit your conclusion. So the timing on the release (of the survey results) during arrival of the Chinese president makes it more questionable to me,” Lorenzana said.

Lorenzana made the statement after witnessing the Philippine Navy’s missile firing tests off Limay, Bataan yesterday.

Three “enemy” vessels were were blown out of the sea by Israeli-made Spike ER missiles fired from a distance of four kilometers.

“(Modern) technology has come to the Navy and we will use this technology to protect our seas,” Lorenzana said. – Jaime Laude