PH, China meet in Xiamen over South China Sea issues

Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro (L) with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong. | PHOTO: DFA

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine and Chinese officials met in Xiamen, China, for the 10th consultative meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism on the South China Sea, according to Foreign Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro.

In a Department of Foreign Affairs statement, Lazaro said she had frank and constructive discussions with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong on the South China Sea and other bilateral issues.

Lazaro did not specify details of the “frank” discussions, but she reminded Beijing of their Provisional Understanding on the Philippines’ rotation and reprovisioning missions to the Ayungin Shoal and its positive outcomes.

“Our position is clear and consistent, but so is our willingness to engage in dialogue. We firmly believe that despite the unresolved challenges and differences, there is genuine space for diplomatic and pragmatic cooperation in dealing with our issues in the South China Sea,” Lazaro said during the meeting.

Lazaro said Manila also expressed serious concern over the activities of Chinese cutters in Philippine maritime zones that are inconsistent with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seas and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act.

The diplomat was referring to Beijing’s intrusions into Philippine territorial waters, particularly its deployment of coast guard cutters, one of which is the biggest coast guard vessel in the world.

Message from US

The veteran diplomat did not specify Beijing’s response, but the meeting was held after US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to the US state department, former Sen. Marco Rubio, urged China to “stop messing around” with the Philippines and Taiwan.

Officials in Manila and Washington separately pressed Beijing to make efforts to stabilize the situation in Asia, particularly in the South China Sea and the area around Taiwan, also a treaty ally of the United States.

“The actions they are taking now are deeply destabilizing. They are forcing us to take counteractions because we have commitments to the Philippines and we have commitments to Taiwan that we intend to keep,” Rubio told US senators during his confirmation hearing on Thursday.

“If they want to destabilize the relationship or they want to at least create some pathway for stabilization of our relationship with them, they really need to stop messing around with Taiwan and with the Philippines because it’s forcing us to focus our attention in ways we prefer not to have to,” the senator said.