Threats don't help, Estrada tells China

Threats don't help, Estrada tells China

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Joseph Estrada pledged on Monday to settle a raging territorial dispute with China diplomatically, saying there was "no use of threatening each other".

Estrada was interviewed by Filipino reporters traveling with him during a visit to South Korea. Transcripts of the interview were released by the presidential palace here.

Asked about news reports that China might retaliate against Filipino workers in Hong Kong for the alleged mistreatment of Chinese residents in the Philippines, Estrada said: "We will settle this diplomatically. There is no use of threatening each other."

Manila and Beijing are locked in an increasingly tense dispute over territories in the South China Sea.