China, RP talks Spratlys completed, more talks planned<\/p>\n
BEIJING (Agencies): The Philippines ended three days of talks
\nwith China on the disputed Spratly Islands without an agreement
\nyesterday, but with a pledge to hold more consultations.<\/p>\n
\"The meeting was important and a useful one,\" a Philippine
\ndiplomat told Reuters. \"The talks laid a good foundation for
\nfuture consultations... We have to talk more.\"<\/p>\n
Both sides agreed the discussions should be a continuing
\nprocess, he said. The venue and date of the next round of talks
\nhas not yet been decided.<\/p>\n
The talks were the first between the two sides on the Spratlys
\nsince Manila accused Beijing last month of building what it said
\nlooked like a naval support installation over Mischief Reef, 135
\nnautical miles west of the southwest Philippine island of
\nPalawan.<\/p>\n
Manila also said China had sent armed ships to the area.
\nChina has denied the accusation, saying the facilities in the
\nSouth China Sea archipelago were built by local Chinese fishing
\nauthorities and intended as shelter for fishermen.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing new about the position of the Chinese,\" the
\ndiplomat said.<\/p>\n
The two sides however were able to lay out their positions and
\ngain a better understanding, the diplomat said.<\/p>\n
The Chinese side had no immediate comment on the talks, held
\nat the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing between Chinese
\nVice Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Philippine Undersecretary
\nof Foreign Affairs Rodolfo Severino.<\/p>\n
Severino returned to Manila after having been in Beijing since
\nSunday for annual bilateral consultations on a range of cultural,
\neconomic, political and security issues.<\/p>\n
The Spratlys are potentially rich in oil and are claimed
\nwholly or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nTaiwan and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
Philippine President Fidel Ramos has publicly urged the
\nChinese to leave and lodged formal diplomatic protests.
\nPhilippine lawmakers have called for a military build-up to
\ncounter the Chinese presence.<\/p>\n
Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said this month that
\ndevelopment of the reef was non-military and posed no threat to
\nother claimants.<\/p>\n
China, pressing its claim of sovereignty over another disputed
\narea, the Paracel Islands, said yesterday it had found there a
\ncollection of porcelain shards from various Chinese dynasties.<\/p>\n
In Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday backed a call by ASEAN members for
\nrestraint by rival claimants to the Spratly Islands after a
\nrecent diplomatic spat between China and the Philippines over the
\nSouth China Sea archipelago.<\/p>\n
A statement released by the foreign ministry said Hanoi
\nsupported the call by members of the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations for all sides to abide by a 1992 agreement to avoid
\nconflict in the region.<\/p>\n
Vietnam reasserted its claim to sovereignty over the Spratly
\nchain but called on all parties not to \"carry out acts that could
\ncomplicate the situation nor threaten or resort to the use of
\nforce.\"<\/p>\n
Claimants should resolve the issue through peaceful
\nnegotiations, the statement added.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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