Beijing open to talks with Manila

China said it is open to resume talks with the new Philippine government to mend differences to improve ties if Manila is willing, according to the Chinese foreign minister.

Lu Kang, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that the Chinese and Philippine Foreign Ministers had unofficial engagement during the ASEAM Summit.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China's principled position on the current situation, saying that China would like to work in unison with the Philippines if the new Philippine government is willing to resume dialogue and consultation, manage disputes and improve bilateral relations together with China.

He underscored that it is in the fundamental interests of the two countries and their people to move China-Philippines relations back to the track of dialogue and consultation

"If China resigns itself to following the Philippines' argument during the negotiations, namely the arbitration award that denies almost all the maritime rights and interests of China, that is tantamount to substantially undermining the foundation of negotiations," Liu Feng, an expert on Chinese maritime issues, told the Global Times.

Echoing Liu, Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times that If the ruling is highlighted, China may lose most of its bargaining power in talks on the South China Sea dispute.

China is open to sovereign disputes, but whether the ruling is used as the premise for negotiations would have an influence on the consensus, Chen said.

However, China can still touch upon the arbitration by clarifying conflicting points in the ruling, such as environmental contamination, without discussing the award, Chen added.

Experts said the two countries still have talking points even if both refuse to budge.

Liu suggested creating mechanisms to control maritime conflicts and implementing the principle of shelving disputes and jointly developing the South China Sea to develop mutual trust.

Manila wants to enforce the points of the complex ruling, but as a priority had asked China to let Filipinos fish in Huangyan Island, Yasay was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Helping its fishermen back to Huangyan Island, or more specifically the island lagoon, is Manila's first step to draw China into discussing territorial disputes, Chen said.

The disagreement on the island lies on whether Filipino fishermen can fish in the island lagoon, which is deemed as an infringement on Chinese territory by China, since they are allowed to fish in nearby waters, Chen explained.

(GLOBAL TIMES)