China's structures on reef to stay temporarily: Ramos
China's structures on reef to stay temporarily: Ramos
MANILA (Agencies): Philippine President Fidel Ramos said yesterday that structures set up by China on a disputed reef claimed by the Philippines in the South China Sea would "not be touched" for the time being.
Ramos said the agreement was reached in a regular bilateral meeting between top-level Philippine and Chinese foreign department officials in Beijing on March 19.
"Mischief Reef was agreed not to be touched in the meantime, but those activities and structures are obviously well within our exclusive economic zone," Ramos said at a news conference.
He was referring to a barren reef in the Spratly Islands, on which the Chinese had erected four large modern structures guarded by at least one military ship.
Ramos's conciliatory statement came following various actions taken by the Philippines to assert its claim to the Spratlys, including the blasting by Philippine troops of several Chinese markers discovered around Mischief Reef.
A diplomatic row between Beijing and Manila erupted in February when Filipino military officials discovered the structures on the spit, 100 nautical miles away from the Philippines' southwestern province of Palawan, well within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
"While there is a better understanding of each other's position, there was also a recognition that these positions remain far apart," said Foreign Undersecretary Rodolfo Severino in a report which Ramos read.
Six countries -- China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam -- have laid claim to all or some of the islands, considered by many as potentially rich in gas and oil.
In a related development, the Czech Republic reiterated its support yesterday for the peaceful resolution of sovereignty claims to islands in the South China Sea, vowing also to strengthen political and economic ties with Manila.
Visiting Czech President Vaclav Havel told a press briefing that his country supported the Manila Declaration which called for a "peaceful solution of a problem through dialog," referring to the disputed Spratly Islands.
Havel arrived late Tuesday for a four-day visit to boost political and trade ties. He met President Fidel Ramos earlier yesterday.
"We agreed that political and security problems in our two regions could best be resolved through dialog, consultations and confidence-building measures," Ramos said at the same press conference.
Havel said they had discussed the contending claims to the Spratly islands but made no specific mention of the tensions between Manila and Beijing.
Ramos said he and Havel "exchanged views" on the situation in the Balkan states and East Asia, as well as on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.