China's intentions must be transparent, says US
By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) Updated June 06, 2010 12:00 AM
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MANILA, Philippines
- Washington does not see China’s strong presence in the Philippines as a problem, but said its intentions
should be transparent.
“I think it’s an opportunity. There are many things we work with China and we want to continue to work with
China especially in business and I think that we have to ensure though that China’s intentions are
transparent,” United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. said in an interview with the Center for Strategic
and International Studies.
Thomas also said the US is discussing the South China Sea issue with member-states of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which groups the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
China is included in the ASEAN Plus Three with South Korea and Japan.
“(The South China Sea issue) has to be a group issue of all ASEAN not just one or two countries,” he
said.
For the US, the South China Sea is part of international waters, thus US ships have the right to operate in the
area. China, however, claims to have an economic exclusion zone of 200 nautical miles from its
coastline.
On US trade relations with the Philippines, Thomas said the US is considering renewable energy as an
active trade and investment area.
Thomas also said the US is committed to partnering with the Philippines in the areas of human rights,
defense and security, campaign against terrorism, and elimination of trafficking of women and children.
Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said bilateral relations between the Philippines and China remain
strong because differences between the two nations were handled in a “discreet” and “non-intrusive”
manner.
The Philippines and China celebrates the 35th year of diplomatic relations this year.
Liu said territorial disputes between the Philippines and China over land and water areas in the South China
Sea still exist but the two nations have agreed not to let these disputes get in the way of other areas of
cooperation.
The Philippines has claims over the Malampaya gas field, Scarborough Shoal, and the Spratly Islands.
“When it comes to the South China Sea, both countries have the old shining wisdom to agree to disagree,”
Liu said in a speech at the Manila Polo Club on Friday. “The consensus stood the test of time and proved to
be the best approach to address the differences between us.”
He said Beijing is prepared to share advanced agricultural technology with the Philippines to increase its
per-unit farm output.
China is also ready to provide concessional loans for infrastructure development because the two countries
have bright prospects of cooperation in the mining industry.
Bilateral relations between the two nations were formally established in June 1975 through a meeting
between Communist Party of China chairman Mao Zedong and the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
Leaders of the two countries have since then stayed in contact through visits and correspondences.
In 2005, Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Arroyo decided to build a China-Philippines
relationship based on strategic cooperation for peace and development.
In 2009, a Joint Action Plan for Strategic Cooperation was signed between the two governments.
“The common interests linking our two countries have widened and our mutually beneficial cooperation has
expanded and deepened,” Liu said.
“It’s fair to say that China-Philippines relationship today has enjoyed stronger domestic support and
assumed greater regional significance,” he added.
Liu noted that trade volume between China and the Philippines has risen to more than $20 billion in 2009,
300 times larger than $72 million in the early days of the diplomatic relations.
Trade volume in the first quarter of 2010, he said, reached $6 billion with as surplus of almost $1 billion for
the Philippines, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 51.6 percent.
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