PHL allays China concerns over lawmakers' visit to Spratlys

The Philippine government on Wednesday allayed China’s concern over the visit of four Filipino lawmakers to the disputed Spratlys Islands, to which the two countries are both claimants. At a press briefing in Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda expressed hope that the visit will not hamper the bilateral relations between the two countries. “The [Department of Foreign Affairs] is in constant discussion with the Chinese Embassy and as much as we recognize Chinese concerns over this we hope that it will not hamper relations between China and the Philippines," he said. China’s government, through its embassy in Manila, has earlier said the visit serves no purpose but to undermine peace and stability in the region and sabotage Philippines-China relations. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao went to his office Tuesday afternoon to express the sentiments of his government regarding the visit. “I explained to the [Chinese] Ambassador yesterday when he called on me that that is how our system of government is operating. They are a co-equal branch of the executive," he said at a forum in Malacañang, referring to the legislative branch of the government. Despite China’s apprehension, the four lawmakers — Ifugao Rep. Teodoro Brawner Baguilat, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, and Akbayan Representatives Walden Bello and Arlene Bag-ao flew — pushed through with their plan to visit Kalayaan Islands, a part of the Spratlys but is well within Philippine territory, Wednesday morning via chartered planes. Not provocative Conejos said he does not consider the visit as provocative and will not discourage other lawmakers from doing so. “As I said, the legislature is a coordinate branch of the government and I leave it to the discretion of the congressmen who went there in the exercise of sound judgment to determine the purpose and objective of their mission," he told reporters after the forum. Lacierda, meanwhile, refused to comment if Malacañang will bar other government officials from going to the disputed island. “I think let us cross the bridge when we get there the next time around," he said. “Right now it is futile for me to say one thing or the other. It is an operative act already. To comment one way or the other would just create more unnecessary media mileage on this whole thing," he added. Lacierda reassured China that the Philippine government will continue holding dialogues with it regarding the matter. “The mere fact the Chinese ambassador was able to speak to Undersecretary Conejos is a manifestation of open lines of communication between the two parties." He said the thrust of the Philippines with respect to engaging China is to have a multilateral dialogue and to involve and engage the other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “That is a process the Philippines government believes is the most logical way of resolving disputes among claimants in the West Philippine Sea," Lacierda said. The Chinese government, however, wants to do it country to country. “The attitude of the Philippine government is to have a rules based approach to the issues on Spratlys. That is the reason why we are looking at forums where we can specifically address issues on international law so that is the reason why we are raising it before the international tribunal," Lacierda reiterated. The Spratlys, a group of islets in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and 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. - KBK, GMA News