6 new envoys present credentials

MANILA, Philippines - The new Chinese ambassador and five other envoys presented their credentials to President Aquino yesterday at Malacañang.

 The new ambassadors are Zhao Jinhua of China, Thomas Ossowski of Germany, Lalduthlana Ralte of India, Johny Lumintang of Indonesia, Mahfood Al-Mantheri of Oman and Esra Cancorur of Turkey.

President Aquino invited China yesterday to attend the World Economic Forum-East Asia to be held here in May as Zhao presented his credentials.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the atmosphere during the presentation that lasted 15 minutes was very cordial.

In their conversation, “both sides agreed that the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea is not the totality of our relationship with our neighbor.”

“And both sides reaffirmed our commitment to move forward…with other facets of our relationship, particularly on trade, tourism, transnational crimes, among others. The President also thanked…the Chinese side for their support for (Super Typhoon) Yolanda victims. And also, the President extended an invitation to attend the World Economic Forum in May,” Valte said.

‘Difficult relations not what China wishes to see’

Valte also said that with the multi-faceted relationship with China, the Aquino administration could see no reason why other segments of that relationship could not move forward because of the territorial dispute.

Zhao, for his part, said that the current difficulties in the Philippines-China relations caused by Manila’s arbitration case against Beijing over the maritime dispute are not what China wishes to see, the Chinese embassy in Manila said in a statement.

Zhang Hua, deputy chief of the political section and embassy spokesman, said Zhao reiterated during the meeting with the President the Chinese government’s position, emphasizing that China attaches importance to its relations with the Philippines.

“It is China’s hope that the Philippine side could, in the spirit of seeking common grounds while shelving differences, work with the Chinese side to properly handle relevant disputes, and to overcome obstacles and bring the bilateral ties back to the normal track of development,” Zhang said.

Zhao arrived in Manila on Feb. 23 and presented the copy of the Letter of Credence to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario on March 7.

On March 30, the Philippines submitted a nearly 4,000-page memorial detailing its arguments and evidence against China’s nine-dash line and other aspects of Beijing’s excessive claims in the South China Sea to an arbitral tribunal at The Hague.

Gregory Poling of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the Philippines may face repercussions for bringing its territorial dispute with China before an international court, but complacency may be costlier.

The submission of the memorial or written argument on the Philippines’ position to the arbitral tribunal “marks a bold step by Manila and one that Beijing seems to have believed never would actually happen.”

Chinese embassy Charge d’Affaires Sun Xiangyang said his country was “deeply disturbed” by the Philippines’ filing of the memorial as negotiations had not been exhausted.

He also belittled the effectiveness of international arbitration, saying even big countries like the United States had rejected its jurisdiction over serious matters.

Last Saturday, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel warned China against taking unilateral action to resolve territorial disputes with its neighbors.

Hagel also said a country could not go around and redefine boundaries, violate territorial integrity and sovereignty of nations by force, coercion and intimidation, whether in small islands in the Pacific or large nations in Europe. “All nations deserve respect, no matter how large or small,” Hagel said.

Valte said that the Philippines has always been of the position that territorial disputes must be settled within the ambit of international law, and the Philippine government has always welcomed statements of support, especially for the position that it had take on the West Philippine Sea dispute.

As regards to Chinese incursions in Ayungin and Panatag Shoals, the Palace official said the Philippine policy is to avoid responding to provocative acts.

“That position that we have adopted does not mean that we relinquished any sovereign rights. In fact, that was precisely the reason why we submitted our memorial to the arbitral tribunal,” Valte explained, adding that the arbitration process would move forward even without China participating in the process. With Pia Lee Brago