Breaking the ice for FVR

YINCHUAN City – Call it a diplomatic coup but it wasn’t so. However, it definitely augurs well for the Philippine-China relations.

The official delegation here of the Philippines, led by Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Delia Albert, and former special envoy to China, Carlos Chan signed an agreement of “friendship” between two key provinces while Manila and Beijing are currently smarting from strained relations.  

Called as the friendship agreement, it stated that Palawan and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region shall maintain regular contacts “to facilitate consultations on the exchanges and cooperation as well as matters of common concern.” 

On the China side, it was signed by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region vice governor Wang Heshan. In his speech after he signed the agreement, Wang cited it was providential that the delegation from the Philippines led by the Palawan Governor visited their province after China’s President Xi Jinping flew last July 18 to 20 for inspection visits to check on the anti-poverty program of the central government around Ningxia. 

President Xi is also the concurrent secretary-general of the Communist Party of China. In his public pronouncements in Beijing, diplomatic observers here noticed President Xi has lately spared the Philippines from any harsh comments. Beijing’s tirades were directed instead against the United States after the July 12 ruling by The Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated China’s nine-dash line claims all over South China Sea. 

Such significant developments were noted a few days after President Rodrigo Duterte sounded out Beijing of his desire to reach out when he announced publicly his request to former Philippine President, Fidel V. Ramos, or FVR for short, to become his “special envoy” to China.    

Wang expressed his optimism on the pronouncements of President Duterte that the new Philippine leader wanted to keep friendly ties with China and that he was open to bilateral talks with Beijing.

Xue Gang, deputy secretary general of people’s government of Ningxia, for his part said he was particularly pleased to read about the speech last Monday of President Duterte. He was obviously referring to the state of the nation address (SONA) of President Duterte at the joint opening sessions of the 17th Congress at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City. 

In his SONA, President Duterte vowed, among other things, to break away from “the sins of the past” administrations, including the just ended term of former President Benigno Aquino III. On The Hague decision on the South China Sea, President Duterte, however, declared “we strongly affirm, respect ruling of International Court to pursue peaceful resolution.”

Speaking for the Philippine delegation, the former DFA Secretary hailed the signing of the Palawan-Ningxia sister partnership agreement as indicative of better things to come. “The timing was very good to keep the momentum in terms of the relationship between China and the Philippines.  We kept doors open and local governments are continuing the conversation. For both sides, it was a good opportunity to get things on track,” Albert pointed out.

A seasoned diplomat, Albert thanked Ningxia Vice Governor Wang for the “very warm” reception extended to the Philippine delegation. “He (Wang) was very pleased that we were here. He was prepared to visit Palawan but what was positive for me was that he made reference to the positive remarks of President Duterte. For me, that was a positive sign,” Albert told us after the signing ceremonies.

Amb. Chan for his part sought to highlight the deepening relations of the two countries through the years that date as far back during the 14th century when the Sultan of Sulu along with his family sailed to Beijing and became the first Filipinos who ever set foot and lived in China. According to the historical records of both the Philippines and China, Sultan Padaka, the Sultan of Sulu and the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di of China at that time during the Ming Dynasty became very close friends. 

When the Sultan of Sulu later died in illness, the Emperor built for his Filipino Muslim friend a tomb in his honor in Dezhou in Shandong. This is why, Amb. Chan underscored the filial relations of Palawan with the ethnic Chinese Muslims-Hui in Ningxia where it is believed some 2,000 direct descendants of the Sultan of Sulu here in China continue to live.

In his own remarks, Gov. Alvarez reiterated the importance of the signing of the sister partnership agreement as replicating the historic ties of the Philippines and China. “The Sultan of Sulu, Sultan Padaka came here to China 600 years ago. So we hope this sister province agreement will continue our friendship in the next 600 years more,” Gov. Alvarez pointed out.   

A day after the signing rites, the Philippine delegation was toured to one of the many Muslim mosques here in the province called Najiahu Mosque in Yongning County. The visit to the mosque was especially touching to Mayor Abraham Ibba of Bataraza who joined the Palawan local government delegation of Gov. Alvarez.  Bataraza is one of the 13 island municipalities of Palawan where fellow Muslims of Mayor Ibba are among the minorities.

As further stated in the sister-province partnership agreement, “the two sides will carry out, in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual benefit, exchanges and cooperation between Palawan and Ningxia in various forms in the field of economy, trade, science and technology, culture, education, sports, health, personnel, etc. to promote common prosperity and development.”

“The signing of the agreement is in accordance with the principles of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines,” it further stated.

It is a very brief agreement contained in one piece of paper signed by the respective officials from local governments of both sides, one written in English and the other translated in Chinese. But the freshly signed agreement produced very good signals that could reverberate all the way to the top echelons of government leaderships in both countries.  

The Palawan-Ningxia “sister” agreement, however, had been in the works as early as two years ago before The Hague ruling was finally handed down. So this had nothing to do with the irritants that caused the icy bilateral relations of the two countries over the contested maritime territorial claims, especially those areas very close to Palawan.

The local initiatives of the provincial governments of Palawan and Ningxia have thus turned it into a diplomatic breakthrough of sort on the proposed joint development for mutual benefits. 

It maybe well, an icebreaker literally in the heat of the summer season here when FVR follows through with his mission for President Duterte as his special envoy to China.