China urges Philippines to ease tensions

Protests over the dispute of the Huangyan Island in South China Sea were seen on the streets of Beijing and Manila on Friday.

In the Chinese capital, a few people unfurled banners -- such as "Huangyan Island will always belong to China" and "Don't test China's limit on guarding sovereignty" in front of the Philippines embassy in China.

It lasted only briefly as police quickly intervened and took the protesters away around noon.

"We are against a war," said a protester, who identified himself as a retired soldier. "But we are also willing to submit ourselves to the orders of the country."

In Manila, about 200 Filipino activists held an anti-China demonstration outside a Chinese consular office on Friday. The rally also ended shortly in peace.

But such protests do nothing to help resolve the dispute.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei on Friday expressed concern over the security of Chinese citizens in the Philippines and hoped that the Philippine side would refrain from actions that could escalate tensions.

It has already been one month since tensions started to escalate on April 10. For the moment, both sides should remain calm and return to the negotiation table.

Indeed, China insists on settling the dispute through diplomatic dialogue undertaken by the two sides.

This stance does not change even though Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying earlier this week warned the Charge D'affaires of the Philippine embassy in China that "China is fully prepared to respond to anything the Philippine side does to escalate the situation."

China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in 2002, pledging to maintain self-restraint and not conduct activities that might complicate or escalate disputes in the region.

China is fully committed to the DOC and expects other signatories to do the same.

Beijing also has been calling for parties concerned to adopt a principle of shelving disputes to seek common development on the issue of the South China Sea.

Chinese President Hu Jintao reiterated that principle during the visit of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III in Beijing in August last year.

During their meeting, the two leaders agreed to strengthen economic and trade cooperation while minimizing the impact of dispute in the South China Sea.

It is clear that China is ready to work with ASEAN countries to actively implement the DOC and jointly develop the waters into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

China and the Philippines are close neighbors and the peoples of the two countries started friendly exchanges long ago. Bilateral relations comprise a myriad of facets and can not solely be determined by the territorial issue.

The Philippine government is urged to use its vision and wisdom to handle the Huangyan Island dispute by peaceful diplomatic means to prevent harming bilateral relations in the long run.

There are signs that Manila is taking positive steps as the Philippine Foreign Ministry resumed diplomatic contact with the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Thursday.

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez said that Philippine diplomats are endeavoring to undertake a new diplomatic initiative to defuse the situation.

This came as Chinese travel agencies suspended trips to the Philippines and customs offices stepped up quarantine of bananas imported from the Philippines.

"The month-long standoff has started to show its impact on the economic front. This already caused alarms to the industry players in the Philippines," Zhuang Mingdeng, a Chinese-Filipino newspaper editor in Manila, told Xinhua.

"It is to the best interests of both countries that both sides stay calm, sit down and talk to find a solution that will be acceptable to both countries," said Zhuang.

China-Philippines trade amounted to 27.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2010, making China the third largest trade partner of the Southeast Asian country.

The two sides have pledged to double their trade volume to 60 billion U.S. dollars in five years.

There are also about 2 million Chinese-Filipino in the Philippines. Many of them play an important role in the business and society of the country.