PBBM hopes ties with China will improve

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. (Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office)

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed hopes that the Philippines’ bilateral relations with China will further improve through the efforts of Beijing’s newly designated ambassador.

This as China ships intimidating aid mission in Panatag has become a  “new normal,” observers at the West Philippine Sea monitor reported.

Marcos accepted the credentials of Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan in ceremonies at Malacañang on Thursday.

During Jing’s presentation of credentials, Marcos said China is one of the Philippines’ most important friends and partners in the world.

“I’m sure that there will be many opportunities for us to make the relationship between our two countries stronger, deeper and more important as the years go by,” he told Jing.

“I look forward to working with you in managing the differences and intensifying the cooperation between our two countries. Our differences should be the exception in our ties rather than the norm,” he added.

Jing, a seasoned Chinese diplomat, served as minister and deputy chief of mission at the Chinese Embassy in the United States before assuming his post as Beijing’s ambassador to Manila.

The Philippines formalized diplomatic relations China in 1975.

A WPS monitor described China ships swarming at Philippines’ regular aid mission at Panatag Shoal for fisherfolks as “new normal.”

“I think this is the new normal at both Scarborough Shoal and also off Palawan,” SeaLight director Ray Powell said in a message.

Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for the WPS, confirmed that a “Kadiwa” mission is ongoing in Panatag Shoal, also locally known as Bajo de Masinloc.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) 44-meter vessel BRP Cape San Agustin and six other BFAR’s 30-meter vessels arrived as close as 30 nautical miles (NM) east of the Panatag Shoal on Thursday afternoon, but the ships have “since repositioned overnight” to 70 NM southeast of the shoal, according to Powell.

Six China Coast Guard and 10 maritime militia vessels were also in the area to match this fleet and “aggressively enforce its exclusion zone around the shoal,” Powell noted.

“China has essentially determined that it will shadow Kadiwa missions to assert its jurisdiction within its [10] dash line,” he added.

Through its “10-dash line,” Beijing claims sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, but Manila brought the matter to an international court, which effectively ruled in favor of the Philippines’ sovereign rights in 2016.

The arbitral tribunal also declared the Panatag Shoal a traditional fishing ground for the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.

China continued its aggressive actions there, the most notable of which occurred on Aug. 11, which led to the collision of its coast guard vessel and Navy warship. — Rex Espiritu & Katrina Manubay