Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) — The Philippine Coast Guard on Friday said it is not rolling out the red carpet for its Chinese counterpart’s visit to Manila next week.
A Chinese Coast Guard vessel, led by Commandant Major General Wang Zhongcai, will make a port call in Manila on January 13, followed by search and rescue exercises and high-level meetings until January 17, according to the PCG.
Admiral Joel Garcia, PCG Commandant, said it will be the third of a series of meetings on maritime cooperation between the two coast guards. The first two were held in 2017 and 2018 in Subic and in Beijing, Garcia said, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2016.
“Hindi po red carpet ang treatement natin sa Chinese Coast Guard. Ito po sa diplomatic lingo ito po ang tinatawag na diplomatic reciprocity. Tayo rin po, nung inimbita tayo sa China ay binigyan din po nila tayo ng karapatdapat na kurtesiya,” Garcia said in a media briefing.
[Translation: We’re not giving a red carpet treatment to the Chinese Coast Guard. This, in diplomatic lingo, is called diplomatic reciprocity. We were also given proper courtesy when we were invited in China.]
Garcia said it’s also a venue to raise important issues with China, particularly ensuring the safety of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea – a portion of the South China Sea that is being claimed and occupied by Manila and contested by Beijing.
He said the topics that will be raised next week were all pre-approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs, but he assured that the concerns of local fishermen will be discussed.
Garcia said the goal is to establish a protocol to prevent untoward maritime incidents like the Chinese vessel ramming and sinking Filipino boat Gem-Ver near Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea in June last year. The Philippines has protested the “callous abandonment” of the 22 Filipino fishermen, who were left to float in the open sea for hours before they were rescued by a Vietnamese vessel. President Rodrigo Duterte called for sanctions against the Chinese crew during his bilateral meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in August 2019.
The Duterte government has been criticized for its soft stance in the South China Sea dispute as it nurtures friendship with Beijing. China rejects the Philippines’ arbitration win to some areas in the West Philippine Sea where Beijing has built and developed artificial islands, blocked Filipino fishermen from fishing, and interfered in oil exploration activities.
