China vows more trade with RP

China has vowed to increase investments in the Philippines and avoid conflict in the disputed Spratly group of islands, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said yesterday.

Ople, in a report on his just ended trip to China, said Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing vowed to increase investments in the Philippines to match the growing Filipino investments in China.

"There is a surge of interest in both sides to take advantage of trade complementation resources now that China has embraced free market reforms," Ople said.

Ople said Li was keen on increasing Chinese investment in the East Asian Growth Area, a Manila-led initiative to integrate the economies of the southern Philippines with neighboring regions in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia.

He said China’s trade with the Philippines was rising faster than its trade with other Southeast Asian countries.

The two ministers also discussed the territorial disputes in the South China Sea which covers the Spratly Islands, focused on ways to build confidence among the claimants as well as ways to avoid conflict, Ople said.

He did not give details of the trade increase nor of the talks on Spratlys.

Aside from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have conflicting claims to all or part of the Spratlys.

Li and Ople also agreed to step up cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs. Much of the illegal narcotics entering the Philippines have been found to have originated from China.

In a separate meeting, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was reported to have reiterated to Ople his government’s desire to strengthen relations with the Philippines.

He praised Manila for seeking peaceful means to solve its crises like the July 27 military mutiny and the Muslim and communist insurgencies, Ople said in a statement. — AFP