MANILA (Update) — President Benigno Aquino III said he will discuss with the visiting Chinese defense minister how to prevent territorial spats in the South China Sea that can worsen into larger conflicts.
Aquino said Sunday he would raise the need for a binding accord aimed at preventing possible clashes at the disputed Spratly Islands and nearby waters in his upcoming meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie.
Liang arrived Saturday for talks with his Philippine counterpart Voltaire Gazmin and to call on Aquino during his four-day visit.
China and the Philippines are among six Asian countries and territories that claim parts of the Spratlys and other South China Sea areas believed to be rich in oil and gas.
Asked if he will raise the territorial disputes in his meeting with Liang, Aquino said he would discuss how occasional spats can be avoided.
"The end point is hopefully these incidents could be reduced, otherwise a conflict might really happen," Aquino told reporters. "We should talk, instead of all these sorts of incidents occurring."
Over the weekend, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed that there was an intrusion in the country's airspace, but Malacañang could not confirm which country the fighter jets were coming from.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government still has to verify where the two unidentified foreign fighter jets came from before taking an appropriate action.
"It was confirmed that there was an intrusion into the airspace but if we cannot identify which country these jets belong, we don't know where to complain," said Valte over a state-run radio.
The AFP in its report said the fighter jets flew over the vicinity of the Kalayaan Island Group, part of the disputed Spratlys.
The jets reportedly "buzzed" two Philippine Air Force OV-1 Broncos on a routine reconnaissance patrol Thursday last week in the Kalayaan Islands.
Earlier reports said the jets belong to China. But the Philippines refused to confirm this report.
Two Chinese patrol boats allegedly harassed a Philippine oil exploration ship into leaving a vast area called the Reed Bank on March 2, prompting a Filipino general to scramble two military aircraft, which arrived at the scene after the Chinese vessels had left, the Philippine military said.
The Philippines protested, saying the Reed Bank, which is near the Spratlys, lies within Philippine territorial waters. China countered by saying that the Spratlys and adjacent waters belong to it.
Valte meanwhile said the Chinese official's visit to the country has no relation to the intrusion issue since it was already scheduled even before the incident happened.
She also downplayed perception that China is trying to threaten the Philippines, saying she could not remember any incident of such.
In Guanglie's arrival speech, he emphasized that the purpose of his visit is to enhance mutual trust and cooperation between China and the Philippines amid rising tensions over the Spratlys Islands.
Aside from the Philippines and China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also take claim over the Spratlys.
Valte said Malacañang is also verifying reports of alleged shooting of two Vietnamese fishermen by the Philippine forces also in Spratlys earlier this month.
Vietnamese police said the families of the victims claimed that the attackers wore Philippine military uniforms.
"We are just verifying this report. We will announce it at the proper time," Valte said.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes the Philippines and three other countries that claim the Spratlys, signed a nonbinding accord with China in 2002 that discourages aggressive behavior that could spark a shooting war.
The accord calls on claimants to carry out joint projects to promote harmony. The claimants, however, have failed to agree on the wording of the guidelines needed to pursue such projects.
Asean and the US have sought to turn the 2002 accord into a binding "code of conduct" for a stronger guarantee against aggression and possible armed clashes.
Aquino said he has long wanted to discuss with China how such a code could be forged. (AP/Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
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Topic: President Aquino to discuss Spratlys with China (Read 2530 times)