PH-China ties do not start and end with West Philippine Sea – Esperon 0 SHARES Share it! Even as the country continues to assert its rights over the territory, Esperon maintained that the Philippines’ relations with China “do not start and end” with the South China Sea issue. After all, the relation between China and the Philippines does not start and end in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea. The two leaders have agreed to settle the South China Sea issue through bilateral negotiations but it should affect cooperation between the two countries. Esperon declined to comment about Xi’s response to Dutete’s statement about the arbitral ruling, saying he was not authorized to speak for the Chinese leader.

Source: Manila Bulletin April 27, 2019 11:48 UTC