President Benigno Aquino III and Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose countries are embroiled in a territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea, will be seated together during the gathering of world leaders in Manila, according to the organizers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Manila.
Apec National organizing council head Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr. said it is a customary seating arrangement that the two leaders will have a chance to meet briefly and have an opportunity to exchange pleasantries.
Paynor said that the Aquino-Xi meeting is possible due to the so-called troika, “a normal practice among Apec economies” hosting the summit.
“This practice allows this seating arrangement. The leader of the host economy sits in the middle, and on his either side would be the leaders of the previous and future hosts.
China hosted the Apec Summit in November 2014, so that would mean Xi would sit beside Aquino in this troika.
Paynor, however, said that there is no scheduled bilateral meeting between Aquino and Xi, but he did not discount the possibility of an unprepared encounter similar to what happened at the sidelines of the Apec summit in Beijing in November 2014.
In that rare meeting, China and the Philippines have called for a normalization of ties, more importantly trade relations, amid territorial disputes.
Both leaders tried to avoid discussing the sea row, but relations remain estranged, with China repeatedly asking the Philippines to drop its arbitration case that seeks to invalidate Beijing’s massive sea claims.
DFA spokesperson Charles Jose said that the Philippines will not withdraw the arbitration case it filed against China over territorial dispute in the South China Sea, despite Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s pronouncement that the Philippine’s legal action has hurt ties with China.
Jose said that the Philippines is determined to reach a final ruling on its case against China, filed before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Netherlands.
“Arbitration, which is a universally recognized dispute settlement mechanism in international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a peaceful and enduring solution to the overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea. We are determined to pursue the arbitration case to its logical conclusion,” Jose said.
Meanwhile, a group that call themselves Movement and Alliance against China’s Aggression on Monday prodded President Benigno Aquino to reconsider his decision, on China’s urging, not to put on table China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea during the Apec Summit 2015.
Beijing had been moving “heaven and earth” in elbowing members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to talk about its excessive claim and aggressive actions by bullying small nations which have claims of the disputed sea.
MARCHA has issued a manifesto urging the Aquino government to take the lead among APEC leaders to talk about China’s aggression.
“The Movement and Alliance Against China’s Aggression (MARCHA) [is] urging the heads of state and heads of government joining the 2015 Summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Manila,” the group said.
Prominent members of MARCHA include Paranaque City Congressman Roilo Golez.
MARCHA underscores the following talking points that the Manila government and other APEC leaders should tackle:
• discuss the issues in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea during the Summit
• condemn China’s nine-dash claim in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea
• call on the Chinese government to halt its reclamation projects
• and, uphold international law by urging China to participate in the ongoing arbitration process initiated by the Philippines. With Florante Solmerin
