Justin L Harts said the visit aimed to “build relationships” with counterparts from the Chinese Navy, but referred questions on tensions in the South China Sea to Pacific Command in Hawaii.
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A Chinese military ship was spotted in the contiguous zone in June for the first time, while China accused Japan of conducting a scramble in an unsafe manner.
Mr Ramos, 88, was also not clear about who he would be meeting.
Though China resents the highly visible presence of the US armed forces in Asia, especially the South China Sea, it has gradually overcome its reluctance and shown a willingness to engage that the sides hope will help avoid conflicts.
The activity in the East China Sea came after the PLA said on Saturday that it had sent H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighter jets and several other aircraft to fly over the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, areas in the South China Sea claimed by several countries.
Ramos said the Philippines wanted its neighbors to understand that the most risky enemies of the world today were no longer people or countries or groups of countries.
August 7, 2016 (EIRNS)-The Rodrigo Duterte government in the Philippines announced today that former President Fidel Ramos will travel to Beijing on Monday to begin talks with China on the South China Sea on behalf of the government.
Reports Tokyo quoted Japanese officials as saying over Chinese coast guard ships along with 230 fishing boats entered the waters of the disputed islands.
“Japan will respond firmly and calmly, in accordance with global and domestic law”, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters Monday.
“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”.
China has refused to recognize the court ruling.
The images have emerged about a month after an worldwide court in The Hague ruled against China’s claims in the resource-rich area, a decision rejected by Beijing. He said Japan would continue to urge China not to escalate tensions.
The Benfold’s visit is the first to China by an American warship since Beijing responded furiously to a Hague-based worldwide arbitration tribunal’s ruling that its expansive South China Sea maritime claims had no basis in law.
Relations between Japan and China, two of the world’s biggest economies, have been plagued for decades by territorial disputes, aggravated by China’s lingering bitterness over Japan’s aggressive behavior during World War II.
China’s actions in the East China Sea may be an effort to deter its neighbours from working in concert against its interests, said Mr Zhou Yongsheng, an global relations professor at the China Foreign Affairs University.
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This is especially the case after South Korea agreed to host a United States Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) anti-ballistic missile system. Seoul has said the missile shield will be aimed exclusively at North Korea but it has prompted outrage in Beijing.
