China doesn’t want war, says envoy

From Malaya (Jul 7): China doesn’t want war, says envoy

CHINESE Ambassador Zhao Jianhua yesterday assured the Philippines that the dispute between the Philippines and China over some islands in the South China Sea will not lead to war. 

Zhao’s statement on dispute resolution through political and diplomatic means came on the eve of the start of the hearings of the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration on whether it has jurisdiction to hear the Philippine’s historic legal challenge to China’s sweeping claims over the South China Sea under its nine-dash line version of a China map.

“China would never wage war against the Philippines. It is not our policy and will not be our policy in the future,” Zhao told reporters after donating books to the National Library in Manila as part of the Chinese embassy’s efforts to foster greater understanding between the Filipino and Chinese peoples.

“These disputes should not be defined as military issues. We need to be careful to avoid defining these as military issues,” the envoy said.

However, he reiterated Beijing’s position that it will not participate in the arbitral proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

“Our position is consistent. We will not accept nor participate in the arbitration proceedings,” he added.

Zhao called for direct negotiations to resolve the territorial dispute.

“We need to resume bilateral negotiations without any condition. I think this is the best way that we can discuss how to peacefully resolve these disputes,” he said, adding that China never closed its door to consultation and direct negotiation between the two countries.

The Chinese envoy said the door for consultation and direct negotiation will be “open forever.”

Last month, Zhao said relations between the two countries can prosper in the area of economic and trade exchange and people-to-people exchanges despite the festering territorial dispute.

He expressed confidence that Manila and Beijing will be able to resolve the dispute peacefully.

Relations between the two countries plunged to its lowest when the Philippines took China to the arbitral tribunal in January 2013, challenging the legality of its nine-dash line claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, including parts of the Philippines’ 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

China has refused to participate in the arbitral proceedings and insisted on negotiations with claimant countries.

Its sweeping claim over the South China and its aggressive stance, including the reclamation activities in Kagitingan, Zamora and Panganiban Reefs as well as the building of artificial islets over the Mabini, Burgos, Calderon and Kennar Reefs, has rattled the nerves of claimant countries and raised the concerns of the US and other nations.

 http://malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/china-doesn%E2%80%99t-want-war-says-envoy