A “paradigm shift” is needed in how the Philippines approaches the South China Sea issue, as diplomatic efforts with Beijing were headed “in a poor direction,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said in an interview with Mainichi Shimbun on Saturday, parts of which were shared with Philippine media on Monday.
China is disregarding traditional diplomatic efforts, a presidential palace release said.
“To this point, we have resorted to the traditional methods of diplomacy ... but we have been doing this for many years now, with very little progress,” said Marcos, who was in Japan for Tokyo’s commemorative summit with ASEAN.
Photo: Reuters
“It’s time that the countries that feel that they have an involvement in this situation, we have to come up with a paradigm shift,” Marcos said, while reiterating that the Philippines wants to avoid violent conflict.
He added his government would continue talking to its partners and come up with a joint position stating their responsibilities as far as the West Philippines Sea is concerned.
The Philippines refers to the part of South China Sea within its exclusive economic zone as the West Philippines Sea.
Manila and Beijing last week traded accusations over a ship collision near a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions over claims in the vital waterway escalate.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that recent incidents were “entirely caused” by the Philippines, but that maritime disputes do not depict the “whole story” of both nation’s relations.
Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) yesterday told a regular news conference that China is willing to properly manage differences through dialogue and consultation.
“We will not close the door to dialogue and contact with the Philippines,” he said when asked about Marcos’ comments.
In addition to the Philippines, Taiwan and ASEAN members Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims with China in parts of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than US$3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said China’s claims had no legal basis, a ruling the US supports, but Beijing rejects.
There was no immediate comment from the Chinese embassy in Manila.
ANGER: A video shared online showed residents in a neighborhood confronting the national security minister, attempting to drag her toward floodwaters Argentina’s port city of Bahia Blanca has been “destroyed” after being pummeled by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, killing 13 and driving hundreds from their homes, authorities said on Saturday. Two young girls — reportedly aged four and one — were missing after possibly being swept away by floodwaters in the wake of Friday’s storm. The deluge left hospital rooms underwater, turned neighborhoods into islands and cut electricity to swaths of the city. Argentine Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich said Bahia Blanca was “destroyed.” The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday, up from 10 on Friday, authorities
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line. The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia. The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It
RSS