InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA - President Benigno Aquino III said the Philippines and China see "eye to eye" on the issue of territorial dispute in the South China Sea, which Manila now calls the West Philippine Sea.
Speaking before industry leaders belonging to the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Thursday evening, Aquino said the dispute is “not the sum total” of the bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing.
“The South China Sea or what we call the West Philippine Sea issue has to be resolved but, at the same time, when I talked to your leaders President Hu Jintao, Premiere Wen Jiabao and others, we did agree that this is not the sum total of our relationships,” Aquino said during the question and answer portion of the Asean 100 Leadership Forum.
The Philippines earlier said it is keeping as an option the filing of a case before the UN International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, if Beijing concurs, to resolve the dispute following Chinese incursions in Recto Bank (Reed Bank) as well as in disputed areas within the West Philippine Sea.
“There are so many areas where there can be mutually supportive and mutually beneficial activities at both ends. Why concentrate on the issues that cause disputes between us and neglect those that can really redound to the improvement of our peoples’ lot?” Aquino said.
“We do see eye to eye and try to minimize any conflicts that we could possibly have,” the President added.
The Kalayaan Island Group (Spratly Islands), which is believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits, are being claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and the Philippines.
