Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and President Rodrigo Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday renewed their call for “dissipating tensions” in the heavily disputed areas of the South China Sea, during a telephone summit initiated by the Chinese government.
“The leaders stressed the need to exert all efforts to maintain peace, security, and stability in the South China Sea by exercising restraint, dissipating tensions and working on a mutually agreeable framework for functional cooperation,” Malacañang said in a statement.
“The two Presidents emphasized the importance of continuing discussions and concluding the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea,” Malacañang added.
The discussion on the maritime dispute was tabled with just 10 weeks left in Mr. Duterte’s term and more than a month after the Philippine Coast Guard reported a “close distance maneuvering” by a Chinese Coast Guard during a patrol in the West Philippine Sea, the latest major incident to pose a concern for Manila.
Malacañang said the two leaders remained committed “to broaden the space for positive engagements” through bilateral trade and economic exchange.
Ukraine, COVID
During their meeting, they also expressed concern over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and renewed the call for a peaceful resolution through dialogue in accordance with international law, the Palace added.
The two leaders also agreed on the need for the Philippines and China to work closely in addressing the impacts of climate change and ensure that the voice of developing countries would be heard in climate change fora.
They also discussed the importance of mutual support in the fight against COVID-19, including making vaccines available to nations that most needed them.
The Palace said Duterte and Xi also agreed “to explore constructive ways to jumpstart interaction and exchanges through, among others, mutual recognition of vaccine certificates, streamlining health protocols and resumption of commercial flights.”
—NESTOR CORRALES
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