President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. began a three-day visit to China on Tuesday, during which anywhere between 10 and 14 cooperation agreements are expected to be signed. While Western media headlines focus on tensions and the “maritime dispute” between the two countries, official statements from both countries are completely different, expressing great hopes for the increased development and friendship which should result from the trip.
President Marcos said in a speech before leaving today: “I will be opening a new chapter in our comprehensive strategic cooperation with China…. I look forward to my meeting with President Xi as we work towards shifting the trajectory of our relations to a higher gear that would hopefully bring numerous prospects and abundant opportunities for peace and development to the peoples of both our countries.” He named agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and trade as areas for particular cooperation.
He referenced the maritime border issue, but from a higher standpoint, declaring that “the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as Philippines and China. We will seek to resolve those issues to the mutual benefit of our two countries.”
Philippine Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Imperial reported in a pre-trip briefing last Thursday that among the agreements to be signed is a memorandum of understanding on r a direct line between the Chinese and Philippines Foreign Ministries for maritime issues, in order “to avoid miscalculation and miscommunication.” Another will be a “joint action plan on agricultural and fisheries cooperation,” another Foreign Ministry official reported today.
