MANILA: The Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the need to exercise restraint to maintain peace in the South China Sea, Manila’s presidential office said on Saturday.
The two leaders held an hour-long telephone summit on Friday, discussing a broad range of topics including concerns over the Ukraine crisis and COVID-19 pandemic responses.
“The leaders stressed the need to exert all efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the South China Sea by exercising restraint, dissipating tensions and working on a mutually agreeable framework for functional cooperation,” the presidential office said in a statement.
Both parties were committed to broaden the space for positive engagements even as disputes existed, Duterte’s office said.
Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has pursued warmer ties with Beijing, setting aside a longstanding territorial spat over the South China Sea in exchange for billions of dollars of aid, loans and investment pledges.
The two presidents spoke of the importance of continuing discussions and concluding the code of conduct on the South China Sea.
An international arbitration ruling in the Hague in 2016 invalidated China’s sweeping claims to the waterway, through which about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually. The case was brought to the tribunal by Manila.
In March, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest over a Chinese Coast Guard vessel engaging in “close distance maneuvering” that heightened a risk of collision in the disputed waterway.
Duterte and Xi renewed calls for a peaceful resolution of the situation in Ukraine through dialogue, and pledged to work together in addressing the impacts of climate change, the presidential office said.
Duterte, 77, is set to end his single, six-year term in June.
Philippines’ Duterte, China’s Xi call for to restraint in South China Sea
https://arab.news/r23c4
Philippines’ Duterte, China’s Xi call for to restraint in South China Sea
- The two leaders held an hour-long telephone summit on Friday
- Since taking office in 2016, Duterte has pursued warmer ties with Beijing
US-Israeli attack violates international law: South Africa
- Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law,” a statement said
- Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions”
JOHANNESBURG: The US and Israeli strikes on Iran Saturday violated international law, South Africa’s president said, calling for restraint and dialogue.
The allies launched the attack citing “threats” from Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles aimed at Gulf states that host US bases, and at Israel.
President Cyril Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the United Nations Charter,” a statement said.
The UN Charter states that self-defense can only be invoked when a state has been subjected to an armed invasion, the statement from his office said.
It condemned “international law violations,” saying: “Anticipatory self-defense is not permitted under international law and self-defense cannot be based on assumption or anticipation.”
Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and create space for continued meaningful negotiations,” the statement said.
US President Donald Trump said Washington’s goal was “eliminating imminent threats” from Iran, while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was to remove an “existential threat.”
