China hopes to 'pass on our traditional friendship from generation to generation'
MANILA, Philippines — China hopes for better relations with Filipinos, its ambassador to the Philippines said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Chinese Embassy where former Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was a guest.
Marcos, his wife Louise Lisa, son Joseph Simon and Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez attended the ceremony to inaugurate a photo wall, the embassy said in a social media release.
One of the photos showed the signing of the official start of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the People's Republic of China on June 9, 1975. The joint communique was signed by then-Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and then-President Ferdinand Marcos, the ousted dictator and presidential candidate's father and namesake.
"While [we] always cherish and honor old friends, we hope that more and more people from our two countries will be committed to deepening our partnership and cooperation, so as to bring more benefits to our two peoples and pass on our traditional friendship from generation to generation," Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said in a Facebook post about the event.
Marcos is running for president in the 2022 polls, which marks the family's second attempt to return to the Malacañang after his father’s ouster in 1986.
Romualdez, his cousin, is seeking reelection as representative of Leyte.
Marcos hopes to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte, under whose administration the Philippines sought to build warmer relations with Beijing after a chill over an arbitration case over China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea.
Manila calls the part of the South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone the West Philippine Sea.
The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday announced it had filed a fresh diplomatic protest with China over "the unlawful issuance of over 200 radio challenges, sounding of sirens, and blowing of horns by Chinese government vessels against Philippine authorities conducting legitimate, customary, and routine patrols over and around the Philippines' territory and maritime zones."
The DFA called the actions by Chinese government vessels "provocative acts [that] threaten the peace, good order, and security of the South China Sea and run contrary to China's obligations under international law."
Duterte and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last June commemorated the 46th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries. — Kristine Joy Patag
- Latest
- Trending
