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Marcos Jr. told Xi PH concerns on China maritime claims - Romualdez

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Vivienne Gulla, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Office of the Press Secretary handout" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/01/06/20230104-marcos-xi-china-ops.jpg"/><figcaption>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reviews the troops with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on January 4, 2023. Office of the Press Secretary handout/file</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping the Filipinos’ concerns over China&#x27;s maritime claims in the West Philippine Sea, according to House Speaker Martin Romualdez.According to Romualdez, Marcos discussed &quot;these very sensitive issues&quot; with Xi “in an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality” during the Philippine leader&#x27;s recent state visit to China.“And that’s why this state visit was so successful because we could see the rapport, the personal exchanges between the two presidents,” Romualdez said in a video released to the media.“And the confidence now that they have with one another on the sincerity of each head of state’s words and how that will go a long way in addressing all these issues --- whether they be contentious or not, moving forward. So this definitely means a lot to the relations with the People’s Republic of China,” he added.Romualdez reiterated that the maritime issues between the Philippines and China do not represent the totality of the two countries&#x27; relationship and that it is in the best interest of both countries to have peace and stability in the region.“We have a vast range of issues and concerns and common interests, whether it’s trade, finance, culture, education, and political. We have many, many areas of agreements. So we want to further strengthen that via direct engagements at the various levels. So that is being encouraged,” he said.“ASEAN’s number one trading partner is China and China’s largest trading partner is the ASEAN. So it’s in the best interest of countries in the ASEAN and then China to have stability, peace in the region.&quot;Marcos invited China’s first couple to visit the Philippines, according to the House Speaker. Romualdez sees this as an opportunity to further deepen the relationship between the two countries.“From the looks of it, I think that might be forthcoming because they actually enjoyed each other’s company and that of their respective first ladies, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos and First Lady Peng went very well … You could see that there was chemistry right off from the start,” he said.“These types of exchanges promote deeper and even a healthier relationship because the trust and confidence with one another is built up and also ... We also look forward to these exchanges that were not possible during the past two and a half years because of the COVID restrictions,” Romualdez said.He also expects more engagement opportunities between Chinese and Philippine lawmakers.“Upon the instruction of our President, we shall engage our counterparts at the parliament and our Congress and our Senate level. This provides better coordination and more understanding and better cooperation at that level,” Romualdez said.Marcos on Tuesday flew to China for a 3-day state visit to improve bilateral ties with the world&#x27;s second largest economy.Marcos said Xi vowed to “find a compromise and find a solution” for Filipino fishermen to return to traditional fishing grounds in disputed areas in the South China Sea.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/06/23/too-early-for-results-from-marcos-xi-sea-talks-expert">&#x27;Too early&#x27; to expect results from Marcos-Xi sea row talks, says expert</a></li></ul>Tensions in the West Philippine Sea between Manila and Beijing flared in 2012 after a standoff between Chinese and Filipino vessels in the resource-rich Scarborough Shoal.The 2 countries initially engaged in bilateral discussions to ease tensions, but Manila eventually dragged Beijing to an international arbitration court in The Hague after China reneged on an initial understanding that both sides would pull out all vessels in the disputed area.In 2016, the arbitration court awarded a victory to the Philippines and invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway where at least 60 percent of sea-borne goods pass through annually.China snubbed the ruling and continued building military installations in shoals and reefs that fall within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/06/23/condescending-expert-twits-china-allowing-ph-fishermen-to-fish-in-own-waters">&#x27;Condescending&#x27;: Expert twits China allowing PH fishermen to fish in own waters</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2407107" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

He also expects more engagement opportunities between Chinese and Philippine lawmakers.

Marcos Jr. told Xi PH concerns on China maritime claims - Romualdez

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Marcos Jr. told Xi PH concerns on China maritime claims - Romualdez

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 06, 2023 09:42 PM PHT

Read More:

Ferdinand Marcos Jr

Xi Jinping

China

West Philippine Sea

Bongbong Marcos

Marcos Jr administration

South China Sea

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