Beijing Says Spratlys Deal Part of ‘Shelving Disputes’ Policy

Below is the statement on March 12 by the Chinese Embassy’s Spokesman

With the common efforts of China and the Philippines, China-Philippines relations have been developing smoothly over the recent years. The increasingly expanded mutually-beneficial cooperation in various fields between the two countries has brought about tangible benefits to the two peoples.

It is an established policy of the Chinese Government to develop strategic partnership and all-round friendly cooperation with ASEAN countries. As the Philippines is a important member of ASEAN, China attaches great importance and makes relentless efforts to developing good-neighborly friendly relations with the Philippines.

Chinese government’s position on South China Sea issue is consistent and explicit. China stands for peaceful resolution of disputes over South China Sea through friendly consultation. In order to maintain stability in the South China Sea and to promote mutually-beneficial cooperation, China has put forward the proposition of “shelving disputes and going in for joint development”, which serves the common interest of all sides concerned. The China-Philippines-Vietnam tripartite cooperation in the South China Sea complies with the principles of the ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and is conducive to maintenance of peace and stability in South China Sea and the Region at large.

China is worried about some recently-emerged tendencies in the Philippines, which may impose negative influence on China-Philippine friendly relations and mutually-beneficial cooperation. We hope to make joint efforts with the Philippines to properly handle the problems related to our bilateral cooperation, so as to maintain healthy development of China-Philippine relations and to safeguard peace and stability in South China Sea and the Region at large.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: INBOX is an archive of press releases, statements, announcements, letters to the editors, and manifestos sent to PinoyPress for publication. Please email your materials to pinoypress @ gmail.com. PinoyPress is not responsible for the content of these materials. The opinion expessed in these items does not reflect those of PinoyPress and its staff. Please refer to our terms of use/disclaimer.