While the Department of Foreign Affairs kept mum on the details of the visit, DFA Secretary Alan Cayetano is set to arrive in China today (Wednesday) to bolster mutual trusts between Manila and Beijing, according to Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.
In a press briefing on Tuesday which was posted in its official Foreign Ministry website, Geng said Cayetano's visit is through the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to exchange idea on relations between the two countries, the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, as well as international and regional issues.
“It is believed that the visit by Foreign Secretary Cayetano will bolster political mutual trust between the two countries, deepen bilateral cooperation in different fields, promote communication and coordination in regional cooperation and advance the strategic cooperative relationship for peace and development,” Geng said.
The DFA for Office of Public Diplomacy executive director Charmaine Aviquivil, however, would not confirm the said visit adding that her office has no details yet.
“No details yet with us, as soon as details are obtained from the concerned office, we will share this with media,” Aviquivil said.
Geng noted that since the “turnaround in the bilateral relationship” in 2016, both the Philippines and China have further deepened political mutual trust and was able to mend other political issues.
“China and the Philippines are neighbors enjoying traditional friendship,” he said.
“Since the turnaround in the bilateral relationship last year, we have further deepened political mutual trust, carried out practical cooperation in various aspects, restarted maritime dialogue and cooperation, and moved forward the bilateral relationship, which have created tangible benefits to people from the two sides and promoted regional peace and stability,” Geng said.
The renewed relationship, he said, was followed through when President Rodrigo Duterte attended China’s Belt and Road Forum in May.
Both Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a meeting “reaching important consensus” on diplomatic relationship.
“President Xi Jinping met again with President Duterte who came to China for the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May, reaching important consensus in developing the bilateral relations,” Geng said.
Geng added that on the upcoming Asean summit in November, China is ready to work with the Philippines to push forward China-Asean relations and East Asia cooperation.
“The Philippines holds the rotating presidency of Asean this year. The Chinese side is ready to work with the Philippines to push forward China-Asean relations and East Asia cooperation,” he said.
China claims most of the oil-resource-rich South China Sea where a total of $5-trillion worth of trade passes through the disputed waters every year, citing its excessive nine-dash line from its so-called ancient Chinese map.
But the Arbitral Tribunal has ruled in favor of the Philippines and declared China’s claim as excessive and violative of the United Nation Convention on the law of the sea.
Aside from the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam also have overlapping claims in the South China Sea.
China has built military garrison or bases in the Spratly Island to assert its right to the sea.
But Cayetano, the newly appointed DFA chief, has earlier said that he may not be convinced enough that the COC should be legally binding.
“In international relations, sometimes, what does legally binding mean? For the local, when you say it’s legally binding, it means there is a court or tribunal where you can run to if a party is not following (the agreement). So, let me say this: definitely, it should be binding. Now, the question, if it's legally binding, which court can the parties go to? And the countries that do not comply, will they respect that court? So, we're all trying to avoid not only war, but instability,” Cayetano said.
He said that if the country insists on the claim as “legally binding” the threat of instability can affect the economy of Asean.
“So, many, many countries want it to be legally binding. But what I’m saying, let’s start with it being binding gentlemen’s agreement; we have a community of nations that signed it,’ Cayetano added.
He said that it will be impossible to create an international or “world court” to monitor, police, or legally resolve disputes among countries.
Cayetano also said that if one or two does not agree to a legally-binding code of conduct “nothing will be created.”
“Because if one or two do not approve of that, because they don’t believe that there can be an independent court, will we go for nothing, no code of conduct? Or will we agree to a code of conduct that will be enforced only by the community of nations who signed it?”
China has earlier made an assurance that it will cooperate in the early resolution for a Code of Conduct (COC) Framework by June of 2017, and the Philippines welcomed the initiative.