President Rodrigo Duterte is confident that the issue on the Julian Felipe Reef will not affect the cooperation between the Philippines and China.
Malacañang said that the ongoing dispute will also not have an impact on vaccine talks.
“We will continue to resolve the issues on Julian Felipe through diplomatic channels and peaceful means,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
“Whatever differences we have with China will not define our bilateral relations and it will not be an obstacle to the overall positive trajectory of our bilateral friendly relations and our deepening cooperation in the pandemic response, including vaccine cooperation and in post-pandemic economic recovery,” Roque added.
Roque said that the President is hopeful that the good relationship between Manila and Beijing will pave the way to peacefully resolve the issue.
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“Separate po iyang issue na ‘yan. The Chinese government is joining us in fighting against COVID-19. It’s a fight of humanity. And talaga namang itong issue ng West Philippine Sea, iba po ‘yan,” Roque said.
The Philippine government has threatened to file more diplomatic protests against China if they will refuse to leave Julian Felipe Reef in the West Philippine Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs reiterated the demand of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana for China to immediately withdraw its vessels from Philippine waters.
“For every day of delay, the Republic of the Philippines will lodge a diplomatic protest,” the department said in a strongly-worded statement.
The DFA has filed a diplomatic protest last March 21 over the presence of over 200 Chinese vessels in the area. The military later on reported that some of the vessels left but 44 of them were still staying there.
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The Chinese Embassy in Manila called Lorenzana’s statement “perplexing” and “unprofessional.”
It reiterated its claim that the reef is part of China’s Nansha Islands. The Embassy also claimed that it’s normal for Chinese fishing vessels to fish near the reef.
“Tradition yields to law whether or not it is regarded as traditional fishing. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the final and binding 2016 Award in the South China Sea Arbitratiion are clearly the only norm applicable to this situation,” the department said.
DFA also said the Chinese Embassy’s remark contained other “blatant falsehoods,” including claims of bad weather and the denial of existence of maritime militia in the area. (TDT)
