Beijing urges Manila to 'meet halfway'

Beijing urged the new government of the Philippines to "meet China halfway" to solve maritime disputes.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang made the remarks on Wednesday, after the likely Philippine president-elect, Rodrigo Duterte, expressed willingness to talk with China about the issue.

"We hope that the new Philippine government will meet China halfway, properly deal with disputes and take concrete measures to push China-Philippines relations back to the track of sound development," Lu said.

Duterte said his country and China could set up joint ventures to explore oil and gas in the South China Sea. Agence France-Presse quoted his spokesman as saying the likely president-elect "is open to bilateral talks with China".

This is in stark contrast with the stance of the current Philippines government, which has rejected such talks. The Philippines filed an international arbitration case against China in January 2013 over the two nations' disputes in the area.

China reacted positively to Duterte's remarks.

"There will be no insoluble disputes" as long as the two countries stick to the principles of treating each other with honesty and seeking common ground while reserving differences, said Lu.

He said on Tuesday that bilateral ties have suffered great difficulties "due to reasons known to all", referring to the Philippines' continuous challenging of China's sovereignty in the South China Sea in recent years, including its filing of the arbitration case.

Zhou Fangyin, a professor of Chinese foreign policy at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies, said that unlike the current administration of President Benigno Aquino III, whose policies in the South China Sea have included "meaningless provocation", Duterte is likely to be "more flexible" on the issue.

"Duterte hopes very much that China will help the Philippines develop its infrastructure and economy, in order to strengthen his ruling foundation," he said.

Chen Qinghong, assistant researcher at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said Duterte is likely to be more practical than Aquino.

"He may adjust the Philippines approach to the South China Sea issue. But the room to adjust is limited," he said, adding that the country probably will continue to be heavily influenced by the United States.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn