China envoy: We don’t want to fight, use force

MANILA, Philippines — China is not picking a fight and does not want to use force in resolving its maritime dispute with the Philippines, according to Chinese Ambassador Jing Quan.

“In my view, there are four ways to deal with it. No one wants to fight. If we want to fight, we would have done that earlier,” Jing said during a visit to The STAR yesterday.

He said the two sides can opt for talking, less fighting, keeping the status quo pending resolution of disputes, or undertaking cooperative actions, such as joint rescues and environmental protection.

Jing said Philippine officials themselves recently raised areas of possible cooperative actions, such as in protecting the environment and garbage collection in disputed waters.

He did not identify the Philippine officials.

Jing said Manila can pursue an “independent, balanced” approach to foreign relations, being friendly with both China and the US.

He said Manila and Beijing  should continue dialogue as he expressed optimism for a conclusion of a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea this year with the Philippines’ chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“We want to achieve something, declare that’s our diplomatic achievement, and we want to finish,” he pointed out. “Work hard, meet each other halfway.”

He admitted slow progress in crafting a COC. He said a COC will lay a solid foundation for bilateral relations.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro earlier said ASEAN would try to finish by this year the negotiations for a long-sought code of conduct in the South China Sea between the region and China.

The Philippines, as ASEAN chair this year, has proposed conducting “monthly face-to-face meetings,” which she said has been “accepted by our ASEAN colleagues.”

Lazaro said the country would tackle one of the contentious issues, particularly the “definition of self-restraint,” or even “terms of reference of that issue, the definition of self-restraint.”