CHINA had expressed its "determination" to cooperate with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to be able to come up with code of conduct in the South China Sea, Malacañang said Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said President Duterte met Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua to discuss the dispute in the West Philippine Sea
Abella said Zhao, in a courtesy call paid on Duterte in Davao City, relayed China's intent to hold a dialogue with Asean member countries to ink maritime cooperation and prevent further misunderstandings.
"Zhao expressed China's determination to work with Asean member states in finalizing the Code of Conduct Framework on the South China Sea middle of this year," Abella said in a statement released Monday night.
"He conveyed that China looks forward to the convening in May 2017 of the first meeting of the bilateral mechanism set up to properly handle the SCS issue. Through this bilateral mechanism, mutual trust and maritime cooperation will be forged and misunderstandings will be avoided," he added.
China will host a dialogue with Asean in May over the crafting of a framework for a legally binding code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo had said China and Asean are expected to tackle Declaration on the Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which mandates self-restraint and non-militarization within the contested waters.
They are also set to discuss the completion of the code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Asean member-states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Four of Asean members – Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam – are claiming parts of the disputed island, while China and Taiwan are claiming most of its features.
Abella said Zhao had acknowledged the "successful" meeting of Philippine and Chinese coast guards.
He added that China is ready to implement the agreed MOU in a friendly manner.
"He looks forward to the Philippine Coast Guard delegation's visit to China to hammer out actions, activities and new engagements to ensure that SCS is a sea of cooperation," the presidential spokesperson said.
Abella also stressed that Zhao was looking forward to the resumption of bilateral defense cooperation and participation of Duterte in the One Belt One Road Summit in Beijing in May.
The Chinese envoy, he said, had hoped that the infrastructure projects in the pipeline will soon be launched, implemented, and completed within the term of Duterte.
Abella said China was also optimistic that the Duterte administration will soon utilize its donations for anti-poverty programs and anti-illegal drugs operations. (VoxPop Philippines)
