FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos will fly to Beijing on Monday for initial talks with Chinese authorities on the peaceful resolution of the dispute over the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and China.
Ramos, who was named special envoy to China by President Rodrigo Duterte, will be accompanied by his wife and former First Lady Amelita Ramos, former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan, journalist Chito Sta. Romana and Sam Jones, his grandson who speaks Mandarin fluently.
The United Nations arbitral tribunal in The Hague has ruled that there is no legal basis for China’s claim to the West Philippine Sea, but China has rejected the ruling.
China continues to occupy some of the islands in the Spratlys and to drive away the Filipino fishermen fishing in the area.
Ramos, 88, served as President from 1992 to 1998 and has maintained good personal ties with China even after stepping down from office.
As a private citizen and senior statesman, Ramos was instrumental in the creation of the Boao Forum for Asia or BFA, a non-government and non-profit international organization, in 1998 together with other world leaders like former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and former Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.
Ramos was formerly chairman of the BFA, which formally inaugurated on Feb. 27, 2001, in Boao, Hainan province in China, which serves as the BFA’s permanent headquarters.
The BFA aims to promote and deepen the economic exchange, coordination and cooperation within Asia and between Asia and other parts of the world. It also aims to offer a high-end dialog platform for governments, enterprises, experts and scholars to jointly discuss relevant issues.