(Reuters) — Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos on Monday (August 8) departed on a five-day trip to Hong Kong to meet “old friends” and rekindle ties with China soured by a maritime dispute in the South China Sea.
In July, an arbitration court in the Hague ruled that China had no historic title over the busy waterway and had breached the Philippines’ sovereign rights with various actions there, infuriating Beijing which dismissed the case.
Ramos, 88, accepted the offer from current President Rodrigo Duterte to be the special envoy to China after the Hague court’s ruling on July 12.
“I am just the ice breaker to rekindle, to warm up again our good friendly neighbourly relations with China, and that’s all that I have to do, and maybe that’s all I can do,” Ramos told a news conference before his flight to Hong Kong.
Ramos was asked if he would raise the issue of the arbitration court’s ruling, which he declined.
“I don’t know what my friends will bring up as a subject matter, but it is not for me to bring it up because that is not my mission. My mission is to rekindle friendship,” he said.
“What he really said was you just please renew our friendship with your friends from China. That’s all. But as I said, I am expecting that the formal phase of bilateral talks will take place in the near future between the officials for both countries,” Ramos added.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims in the sea, believed to be rich in energy deposits.
Ramos’ trip represented “the first concrete step” for both sides to engage and “could open a new chapter in settling disputes,” said China’s state news agency, Xinhua.
Ramos was president from 1992 to 1998, when China occupied the submerged Mischief Reef, building structures it said its fishermen would use.
In 2012, China seized the Scarborough Shoal, denying Philippine fishermen access to a rich fishing ground, and prompting Manila to file the arbitration case.
China has ignored the court’s ruling that none of its reefs and holdings in the Spratly Islands entitled it to a 200-mile exclusive economic zone.
Ramos did not identify the “old friends” he will meet in the former British colony, but described them as either retired or not in an official capacity, although they could help influence China’s leaders in Beijing.
Talks are to center on maritime disputes settlement.
The Chinese government says it stands ready to continue making efforts in resolving relevant disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation with the states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with international law.
This is Ramos’ first trip to China as the special envoy. The 88-year-old former leader is accompanied by former Interior and Local Government secretary Rafael Alunan, journalist Chito Romana and his grandson Sam Jones.
Ramos told a press conference before his departure that his visit is more of a private element with unofficial nature. During the visit, he will meet some old friends and make private conversations. He says that this will be the first step to restart Philippine-Chinese relations.
“But that is a big enough job as I said. I’ll do my best. However, my initial on the preliminary phase,” said Ramos.
But the former president has not disclosed whether he would travel to other Chinese places apart from Hong Kong. He only says anything can happen as Hong Kong is a hub of communication in China.
Ramos has served as the Philippine president from 1992 to 1998 and he has maintained good relations with China even after stepping down from office.
Ramos is instrumental to the creation in 1998 of the Boao Forum for Asia, which is a non-government and non-profit international organization, together with other world leaders like former Australian prime minister Bob Hawke and former Japanese prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa.
Ramos has also served as a chairman of the Boao Forum, which was inaugurated in south China’s resort town of Boao in February 2001. Since 2002, the forum has been holding its annual conference to discuss the most pressing issues in the region and the world at large. (with a report from CCTV)
