DIPLOMATIC TIES | China affirms ‘everlasting friendship’ to mark 46th bilateral relations with Philippines

June 9, 2021 , 08:19 PM

(June 9, 2021) – China’s leader Xi Jinping has written to President Rodrigo Duterte affirming close bilateral ties between the two countries, promising to further deepen and broaden cooperation on the 46th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

In a letter, Xi said the two countries have an “everlasting friendship” despite a maritime dispute in the South China Sea, a source of irritants for decades as Beijing asserted its claims in the strategic waterway.

Xi said the two countries have “maintained healthy and stable development,” over the years which brought “tangible benefits to our two peoples.”

“After the COVID-19 outbreak, the two sides have helped each other to jointly overcome the adversity, further elevating the friendship between the two peoples,” Xi said in the letter, which was publicly released on Wednesday.

“I attach great significance to the development of China-Philippines relations, and stand ready to work with you in guiding our bilateral relations to move forward in a sustained and steady manner.”

In a taped speech, Duterte responded, paying tribute to a “win-win cooperation” under his administration.

The president spoke at a virtual forum organized by the pro-China Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc.

“It is a bond that predates, by centuries, the formal establishment of diplomatic relations 46 years ago,” Duterte said.

“As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Philippines-China ties, win-win cooperation will ensure that our relations remain a partnership for greater peace, progress, and prosperity.”

Trade and investments improved under Duterte with billions of pesos sinking into offshore gaming operations in the Philippines as well as in construction and services.

But a maritime dispute in the South China Sea remains a sore thumb in bilateral relations, which began in 1975 with the visit of former first lady Imelda Marcos to China.

China continued to reject a landmark arbitral ruling the Philippines won in The Hague in 2016, which voided the expansive “nine-dash-line” historical claim over the entire South China Sea. It was also against the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Duterte reversed his predecessor’s policy by adopting a rapprochement policy to win trade, investments, and aid from the world’s second-largest economy.

Duterte also pursued a bilateral approach in resolving the maritime dispute, discarding the past administration’s strategy to internationalize the issue, hoping to boost economic relations.

But about 5 percent of the promised $24 billion economic assistance was realized.

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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