MANILA, Philippines – SINABI ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr., na naisantabi ng “malusog at lumalalim” na relasyon ng Pilipinas at China ang ‘differences” ng dalawang bansa.
Sa naging talumpati ng Pangulo sa Manila Hotel, sinabi nito na committed ang bansa na palakasin ang bilateral ties nito sa China.
“It is my firm belief that our relationship must not be defined by our innate differences,” ayon kay Pangulong Marcos sa idinaos na Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding (APPCU) awarding ceremony.
“There is a lot more that we can and must do to celebrate our bilateral ties. Time and again, we have proven that it is in our mutual interest to preserve the special rapport and kindred spirit that we have established and nurtured throughout our history,” dagdag na wika nito.
Ang pahayag na ito ng Punong Ehekutibo ay kasabay ng pagkilala sa China bilang “top partner” ng Pilipinas pagdating sa ” total trade”, pumwesto sa una bilang imports source at pumangalawa naman bilang exports destination.
Sinabi pa nito na ang China at ang special administrative regions nito ay nagsilbi bilang “second home to a substantial number of overseas Filipinos.”
“So, we will exert utmost efforts to strengthen this relationship. We will strive to make it more comprehensive, more strategic, all with the view to advancing the paramount interest of both our nations and our peoples,” ani Pangulong Marcos.
Pinabulaanan naman ni Pangulong Marcos na inilayo na ng Pilipinas ang polisiya sa China, iginiit na patuloy na itinataguyod ang pagkakaibigan, relasyon at partnership sa Beijing.
“Some people have said that the Philippines has shifted its policy away from the People’s Republic [of China] and to other powers. That is certainly not true. We have not shifted away from China in any way whatsoever,” anito.
Sinabi pa niya na ang gobyerno ng Pilipinas ay may “continuing communication” sa Chinese government kasunod ng kanyang state visit sa China noong Enero ngayong taon bunsod na rin ng imbitasyon ni Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Winika pa ng Pangulo na siya at si Xi ay kapuwa determinado na maghanap ng solusyon sa iba’t ibang isyu na kinahaharap ng dalawang bansa, kabilang na rito ang pinagtatalunang South China Sea.
“Slowly, the process that we began after my visit to President Xi and to China in January, we have developed those concepts of communication [on] the issues about the fishing grounds. All of these things are continuing and perhaps soon, we will be able to report. So, this is the way that we strengthen this relationship that we have with China,” aniya pa rin.
“That continues. Whatever else happens, this relationship again will not be defined by the differences but by our common areas of interest and our common beliefs and the similarities in our culture which both countries will understand very well. I think that is a very fertile ground to build, to plant our relationship and keep it growing,” dagdag na pahayag ng Punong Ehekutibo. Kris Jose
