Experts Expect Fresh Start In Sino-Philippine Relations

By Yang Ke， Wang Wen

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Experts Expect Fresh Start In Sino-Philippine Relations

By Yang Ke， Wang Wen

The relationship between China and the Philippines， which has been strained by territorial disputes in the South China Sea， will experience a fresh start aTher incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte assumes office， experts said in Manila in early June.

“Every incoming president， every incoming administration has the advantage of a fresh start，” Lauro Baja， a former ambassador， told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

Relations between China and the Philippines have soured during the six years under outgoing President Benigno Aquino， whose government brought China to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the disputes in the South China Sea.

Unlike Aquino， incoming President Duterte， who will assume office on June 30，has said that he is willing to engage China in bilateral talks on the issue.

Benito Lim， political science professor at the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University， said that as the Philippines' new president， Duterte has to show that he is willing to accommodate and he is ready to talk.

“Very likely he looks like he is a very open-minded person. There are two things that can happen： either we talk to China or we continue this conflict. The larger picture is we should ask ourselves： what did we get from this long conflict？ What's wrong if we talk to them？” Lim said.

Baja said that， by the pronouncements of Duterte， he seems to be more open to talking to China than Aquino has been.

“What I believe is this： there must be some lines of communication between China and the Philippines， which does not exist effectively right now，” Baja said.

Emil P. Jurado， a columnist， wrote in a Philippine national newspaper， The Standard， that the proposed bilateral talks with China seem to be a good move.

“I believe there's no substitute to dialogue when two countries have differences and disputes，” said Jurado.

Friendly Overtures

Earlier this week， Duterte hailed Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “great president” in a press conference in response to a message the Chinese president sent to congratulate him on winning the May 9 presidential elections.

In his message， Xi said that he hopes the two sides would “get bilateral relations back on the track of sound development.”

“A friendly， stable and sound China-Philippines relationship is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples，” Xi said.

Perfecto Yasay， Duterte's choice for foreign secretary in his new government， has sounded a conciliatory tone towards thawing of bilateral relations between the two counties.

Philippine President-elect and Davao city mayor Rodrigo Duterte （center） campaigning in Manila on May 7， flanked by his relatives

“I don't think that there is another way of resolving this dispute except by talking to each other，” Yasay told reporters this week.

“We certainly would like to make sure that we are able to resume bilateral talks because these are necessary，” he added.

Baja said that he has noticed that China is receptive to the friendly overtures from the Philippine side.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that he welcomed a possible warming of relations with the Philippines.

“The door of dialogue between China and the Philippines is always open，” Wang told a news conference in Ottawa， Canada， where he was on an official visit earlier this week.

“If the Philippines sincerely wants to come back to the track of dialogue and negotiations， we welcome that，” he added.

Independence from America

Duterte told reporters earlier this week that the Philippines would not rely on the United States for long-term security， saying the Philippines is going to find its own way forward.

“We will be charting a course of our own. It will not be dependent on America，and it will not be a line intended to please anybody but the Filipino interest，” he said.

Baja pointed out that it was at the prodding of the U.S. that the Philippines opted for multilateral approach on the South China Sea issue， adding that such an approach“shows that the U.S. is only aTher its national interest. If it is to the interest of the U.S. that we go bilateral with China， then of course they will agree.”

“Vietnam and China talk to each other and they were able to demarcate their line，their land border. They were able to come to an agreement also on their sea border， and they have a substantive trade and other relations，” he explained.

（Dario B. Agnote also contributed to this story）