Manila , April 22 (AseanAll)  — The Philippines and China committed to strengthen ties and maintain the momentum of cooperation during the bilateral meeting between Philippine Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique A. Manalo and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held on 22 April 2023, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs（DFA）of the Philippines.

“Together, let us endeavor to elevate our bilateral relations to even greater heights under the administration of President Marcos, who shares the commitment with President Xi,” Secretary Manalo said. The Philippines’ top diplomat added, “Our leaders have agreed that our differences in the West Philippine Sea (the West Philippine Sea is the official term Manila uses to refer to the eastern parts of the South China Sea)are not the sum total of our relations. These differences should not prevent us from seeking ways of managing them effectively, especially with respect to the enjoyment of rights of Filipinos, especially our fisherfolk.”

The meeting was the first between two officials and built upon the inaugural and historic state visit of Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to China, which laid the guideposts for ushering in comprehensive Philippines-China relations. It was under the Administration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. that diplomatic relations were established in 1975.

During the meeting, both officials acknowledged the progress in the implementation of the state visit outcomes from the Philippine President’s state visit in January 2023. 

“The tripling of our total bilateral trade within the past decade is a positive development. The Philippines looks forward to the early realization of the USD 22.8 billion business and investment pledges made during the state visit of President Marcos to Beijing,” stated the Foreign Affairs chief.

The high-level officials also highlighted infrastructure cooperation as a key sector for Philippines-China economic and development engagement, especially with the Philippines’ Build Better More program dovetailing with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and looked forward to the early completion of ongoing infrastructure cooperation projects.

Aside from bilateral cooperation, the two foreign ministers also exchanged views on strategic and regional issues. Secretary Manalo reaffirmed the Philippines’ adherence to the One China Policy, while at the same time expressing concern over the escalating tensions across the Taiwan Strait. He also emphasized that the Philippines pursues an independent foreign policy, which seeks to ensure stability and prosperity in the region.

The visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang came on the heels of the 23rd Foreign Ministry Consultations and 7th Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea that were convened back-to-back in Manila last month.

On the same day, Qin Gang also visited Philippine President Marcos, Vice President Sarah, and former President Duterte, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Marcos Jr. asked Qin Gang to convey his greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and noted that 48 years ago, his father, the late President of the Philippines Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, and the elder generation of Chinese leaders made the right decision to establish diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China, leaving a valuable legacy. Over the years, the two countries have maintained close exchanges and achieved fruitful results in cooperation. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, and the Philippines will continue to strictly abide by the one-China policy as it has always done. The Philippines will stick to strategic independence rather than picking sides, and is ready to deepen friendship, expand cooperation, and strengthen communication with China, and properly handle maritime issues to prevent them from disturbing the overall bilateral relations, and safeguard regional peace and prosperity.

Photo source:  the Presidential Communications Office of the Philippines

Qin Gang conveyed the greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Marcos Jr., noting that the course of development of China-Philippines relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties has proved that mutual respect, friendly interactions, honoring of commitments, and mutually beneficial cooperation serve the fundamental interests of both sides, and that both experience and lessons should be learned. 

Qin stressed that in the face of the new situation and challenges, the two sides need to keep bilateral relations to the right direction, enhance communication and mutual trust, and overcome difficulties and interference, so as to create favorable conditions for advancing cooperation and ensure that bilateral relations will continue to move forward along the right track of sound and stable development.

Photo source: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China

Qin Gang pointed out that during President Marcos Jr.'s visit to China earlier this year, the two sides issued a joint statement affirming that the two countries should be good neighbors, good relatives and good partners. He expressed the hope that the Philippines will work with China to turn this vision into reality. Qin Gang also expressed the hope that the Philippine side will follow the trend of history, properly handle Taiwan-related and maritime issues in line with the overall interests of regional peace and stability and the fundamental interests of the people of the two countries, earnestly respond to China's legitimate concerns, respect China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and translate into actions its commitment to upholding strategic independence rather than picking sides. China proposed that the liaison mechanism on maritime issues be further improved to properly manage the situation.

On April 22, Philippine President Marcos also issued a statement  on his meeting with Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang, according to the Presidential Communications Office of the Philippines.

Photo source:  the Presidential Communications Office of the Philippines

The statement said that some of the pronouncements that have been made recently by our two countries and many other countries might be misinterpreted.

So today it was really useful that we were able to speak with Minister Qin Gang, the Foreign Minister of China, so we can talk directly to one another and iron things out.

“It’s very, very useful and very, very productive that Minister Qin came here and that we were able to talk things a little bit through, make plans for the future, continue to work on growing the relationship between the Philippines and China, not only in the economic field but in the cultural and educational and other exchanges，”Marcos said in the statement.

Photo source:  the Presidential Communications Office of the Philippines

As to the conflicts, we agreed to establish more lines of communications so that any event that occurs in the West Philippine Sea that involves China and the Philippines can immediately be resolved.

So we are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response and we are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations.