China, RP talks Spratlys completed, more talks planned

China, RP talks Spratlys completed, more talks planned

BEIJING (Agencies): The Philippines ended three days of talks
with China on the disputed Spratly Islands without an agreement
yesterday, but with a pledge to hold more consultations.

"The meeting was important and a useful one," a Philippine
diplomat told Reuters. "The talks laid a good foundation for
future consultations... We have to talk more."

Both sides agreed the discussions should be a continuing
process, he said. The venue and date of the next round of talks
has not yet been decided.

The talks were the first between the two sides on the Spratlys
since Manila accused Beijing last month of building what it said
looked like a naval support installation over Mischief Reef, 135
nautical miles west of the southwest Philippine island of
Palawan.

Manila also said China had sent armed ships to the area.
China has denied the accusation, saying the facilities in the
South China Sea archipelago were built by local Chinese fishing
authorities and intended as shelter for fishermen.

"There is nothing new about the position of the Chinese," the
diplomat said.

The two sides however were able to lay out their positions and
gain a better understanding, the diplomat said.

The Chinese side had no immediate comment on the talks, held
at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing between Chinese
Vice Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Philippine Undersecretary
of Foreign Affairs Rodolfo Severino.

Severino returned to Manila after having been in Beijing since
Sunday for annual bilateral consultations on a range of cultural,
economic, political and security issues.

The Spratlys are potentially rich in oil and are claimed
wholly or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Taiwan and Vietnam.

Philippine President Fidel Ramos has publicly urged the
Chinese to leave and lodged formal diplomatic protests.
Philippine lawmakers have called for a military build-up to
counter the Chinese presence.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said this month that
development of the reef was non-military and posed no threat to
other claimants.

China, pressing its claim of sovereignty over another disputed
area, the Paracel Islands, said yesterday it had found there a
collection of porcelain shards from various Chinese dynasties.

In Hanoi, Vietnam yesterday backed a call by ASEAN members for
restraint by rival claimants to the Spratly Islands after a
recent diplomatic spat between China and the Philippines over the
South China Sea archipelago.

A statement released by the foreign ministry said Hanoi
supported the call by members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations for all sides to abide by a 1992 agreement to avoid
conflict in the region.

Vietnam reasserted its claim to sovereignty over the Spratly
chain but called on all parties not to "carry out acts that could
complicate the situation nor threaten or resort to the use of
force."

Claimants should resolve the issue through peaceful
negotiations, the statement added.