Chinese President Xi Jinping was “quiet and stoic” when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised the country’s issues on the West Philippine Sea at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit held last month in San Francisco.
Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri recalled asking President Marcos about the meeting during a recent dinner at the President’s residence.
“We had dinner in this house a few weeks ago, a couple of weeks ago. Ang sabi ng Pangulo sa atin, tinanong ko po siya, anong binulong nyo po (I asked the President, what did you say) with President Xi when you met him?’,” Zubiri narrated in an interview on ANC Headstart on Tuesday, December 12.
“And he told: ‘Migz in no small terms I just said you know, we wouldn't be having this problem if he just minded your business and we minded ours’,” Zubiri recalled Marcos saying.
“’We're just doing resupply missions to Ayungin Shoals, helping our fisherfolk in Bajo de Masinloc. And if you want to watch over our coastguard ships, our white ships as well as our fishing vessels of BFAR, fine no problem, but don't do any aggressive maneuvers, like blocking them, robbing them’,” Zubiri further said recalling the President’s words.
“He thought that straight to President Xi, President Xi was just quiet, stoic than looking at him,” he said.
Zubiri said he supports the President in his move to stand up for the country’s rights over the West Philippine Sea.
“So to be honest, and if they only did that, kung ganyan po lang ang ginawa nila sinabayan lang po ang mga barko natin, hindi tayo ginitgit, hindi tayo winater cannon. Wala siguro tayong problema (if all they did was trail our ships, and not bullied or water cannon our vessels. We won’t have any problem),” he pointed out.
“We were just doing, were minding our own business, doing what we've been doing for the last how many years, especially in resupply mission,” he further said.
Xi’s reaction to the President Marcos, he said, obviously shows China’s refusal to heed the Philippines’ request.
“I'm sure (I understand) the President's frustration, is that kinausap na nga niya ang leader ng China, na (he already asked China’s leader) let's just do your own thing without harming our boats. We'll do our own thing without doing any aggressive maneuvers against China. And let's not go on our merry way but obviously ayaw nila, ayaw talaga nila (they don’t want to. They really do not want to),” he lamented.
In the same interview, the Senate leader reiterated his call for the President to call for a new Chinese envoy and send Huang Xilian, China’s current ambassador to the Philippines, home.
Zubiri said it is high-time that a Chinese envoy who can simmer down tensions between Beijing and Manila is installed.
“I think it’s about time to send a new ambassador who can actually make strides and try to reach our side, the Philippine side, and calm things down and not add fuel to the fire,” he said.
“In diplomacy, you have to keep lines open, you have to figure out a way to prevent these types of actions from happening and it seems that he’s been ineffective,” the senator said.
Zubiri said he and even other senators notice that Huang has been pushing for an aggressive reaction from his country’s Chinese Coast Guard as well as his country’s maritime militia instead.