The Philippines and China have agreed to establish “more lines | /CIG/ Telegram | Counter Intelligence Global

The Philippines and China have agreed to establish “more lines of communications” to immediately resolve conflicts between the two countries over the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

“We are currently working on that and are awaiting the Chinese response and we are confident that these issues would be worked out that would be mutually beneficial for both our nations,” Marcos said in a statement after a meeting with China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who is on a three-day visit to Manila, his first trip to the Southeast Asian nation.

China and the Philippines should work together to promote peace and stability in Asia by deepening their relations, Qin said before meeting Marcos, in a sign that Beijing is seeking to chip away at US sway in the Southeast Asian nation.

Qin’s visit coincides with the largest US-Philippines military exercises in decades. Top diplomats and defense officials from the countries recently met in Washington, where they expressed “strong objections” to Beijing’s sea claims, and agreed to finalize plans for joint patrols in the disputed waters.

Qin’s visit to the Philippines comes ahead of Marcos’s meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on May 1. They plan to discuss economic cooperation, clean energy transition investment, and efforts to uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.

“It’s very, very useful and very, very productive that Minister Qin came here and that we were able to talk things a little bit through, make plans for the future,” Marcos said.

https://gcaptain.com/philippines-opens-more-lines-of-communication-with-china-to-resolve-maritime-conflict/