Phl donates $200k to China for quake victims

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines donated $200,000 to the Chinese government following the recent earthquakes in the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the Department of Foreign Affairs reported Friday.

Two major earthquakes with a 5.6 and 5.7 magnitude hit the southwestern Chinese provinces last September 7. The tremors and the ensuing aftershocks killed 80 and injured 800 others.

DFA said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying met Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario on Friday for the ceremonial handover of the donation, seen as a gesture of friendship amid recent tensions between the two countries.

China and the Philippines figured in a standoff last April regarding a territorial dispute over Scarborough Shoal, located 124 nautical miles off Zambales.

Chinese diplomats led by Fu arrived on Friday in Manila to discuss the bilateral relationship and areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting between Manila and Beijing is held under the 18th Foreign Ministry Consultations between the Philippines and China and the first consultation held since the two countries engaged in a standoff over Scarborough in April. The 17th FMC was held in Beijing in January.

President Benigno S. Aquino III said domestic pressures in China had affected efforts to improve diplomatic relations to a level seen before the Scarborough Shoal dispute. This comes amid an impending transition of power in the communist state, where Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to hand over power as head of the ruling Communist Party to Vice President Xi Jinping.  

Citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, the Philippines is claiming the territory, saying the area is within its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. Beijing, on the other hand, claims the territory, citing historical basis.