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.