Beijing said over the weekend that it flew bombers, fighter jets and other military aircraft over contested areas of the South China Sea recently, an announcement that came as former Philippine President Fidel Ramos prepared to head to China for preliminary talks aimed at settling the territorial dispute.
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That UN tribunal ruling favored Manila’s position that there is no basis for China’s sweeping nine-dash-line claim on almost 90 percent of the South China Sea.
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.
China has dismissed a biased ruling issued on July 12 as “null and void with no binding force”.
The Chinese government said it stands ready to continue to resolve relevant disputes peacefully through negotiation and consultation with the states directly concerned on the basis of respecting historical facts and in accordance with global law.
The office of Fidel Ramos has confirmed the planned trip.
His wife, former first lady Ming Ramos accompanies him, and their grandson Sam Ramos-Jones.
Ramos was formerly chairman of the BFA, which formally inaugurated on February 27, 2001, in Boao, Hainan province in China, which serves as the BFA’s permanent headquarters. “We will not be talking about any substantive matters”, Ramos said in a press conference before he left for his 4-5 days Hong Kong visit.
China has rejected the ruling, saying the tribunal had no jurisdiction, and continues to control disputed land features, including Scarborough Shoal and seven artificial islands it has built in the Spratlys.
“I am just the icebreaker to warm up again, our good, friendly, neighborly relations with China and that’s all I have to do”. In fact, he had been quite critical on some counts. “I am sure that by the end of the week we will see that American Sailors and Chinese sailors are as close as any other sailors out on the high seas”, Harts said. The Philippine government has cautioned Philippine fishermen against entering the disputed waters, but Duterte has repeatedly called on China through its ambassador in Manila to allow them access to traditional fishing grounds.
As a private citizen and senior statesman, Ramos was instrumental in the creation of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), a non-government and non-profit global organization in 1998, together with other world leaders, former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and former Japan Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa.
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“A renewal of friendship and also – a fishing expedition”, Ramos said.
