Marcos tells Xi: ‘I do not think anybody wants to go to conflict’

MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sought to cool tensions over the South China Sea at a gathering together with his Chinese language counterpart, Xi Jinping, in San Francisco on Friday.

“Basically, we tried to provide you with mechanisms to decrease the tensions in [the] South China Sea,” Marcos stated following the summit he initiated with Xi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation leaders’ gathering.

He famous that the maritime dispute with China “ought to not be the defining factor of our relationship,” however added that “issues stay” and the 2 sides want to preserve speaking.

“I do not think anybody wants to go to conflict,” Marcos stated.

Beijing claims sovereignty over many of the resource-rich South China Sea, together with components of the unique financial zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. On Friday, a Chinese language coast guard ship fired a water cannon on a Philippine motorboat that was trying to resupply a small navy contingent on a grounded World Struggle II warship at Ayungin Shoal within the waterway.

The 2 leaders engaged in related talks throughout Marcos’ state go to to China in January and final November’s APEC assembly in Bangkok.

The Philippines’ Division of Overseas Affairs stated that, as of Nov. 7, the nation had this yr filed 58 diplomatic protests in opposition to Beijing.

Relations between the Philippines and China have been up and down since Manila gained a landmark arbitration case in opposition to Beijing in 2016. The court docket stated China’s maps had no authorized foundation over the contested waters.

In August, Beijing launched a “commonplace map” that claimed territory owned by a number of Asian nations. The map was soundly rejected by nations together with India, Thailand and Taiwan.

The 2 months that adopted have been bookended by Chinese language aggression within the disputed waters. Beijing disrupted Manila’s resupply missions utilizing water cannons, engaged in “harmful maneuvers,” in accordance to the Philippines, and was concerned in a collision with a Philippine military-hired vessel.

Julio Amador, CEO of Amador Analysis Companies within the Philippines, did not count on the assembly to ease friction between the 2 nations.

“It might be enormously irresponsible if Marcos did not search to discover alternatives for cooperation within the West Philippine Sea; that is diplomacy at work,” he advised Nikkei Asia. Manila calls components of the territory it claims within the South China Sea the West Philippine Sea.

“However it’s China that wants to show that it will possibly do issues otherwise. There isn’t a proof of that, because it has been constant in what it does within the South China Sea.”

China’s incursions into the Philippines’ unique financial zone over the previous few months have been condemned by nations akin to the USA, a long-standing ally of Manila.

Don McLain Gill, an analyst and lecturer at De La Salle College in Manila, stated the assembly represented “continuity” of the Philippines’ coverage of coping with China.

“Being on the defensive, our purpose is not to disrupt or provoke the safety structure however to guarantee its stability,” he stated. “The Marcos Jr. administration has at all times been constant in wanting to alleviate tensions within the West Philippine Sea by negotiation.”

Gill famous that “such proactiveness goals to finally stage the enjoying subject for higher negotiations with Beijing, whereas retaining traces of communication open.”

Manila has moved nearer to Washington underneath Marcos, marking a major shift from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s fostering of hotter relations with Beijing.

The Philippine authorities introduced in April that it could bolster relations with the U.S. by opening 4 new navy websites underneath the Enhanced Protection Cooperation Association.