“What he said was please just renew our friendship with your friends from China, that’s all. This is just to renew or rekindle old ties,” Ramos told reporters before he boarded his flight. A week later, following confirmation from surveillance pictures that the structures were military in nature, Ramos ordered military forces in the region strengthened while China claimed the structures were only shelters for fishermen. FORMER President Fidel Ramos flew to China on Monday, but before doing so expressed confidence that the Chinese government will mend its ties with the Philippines amid their ongoing dispute in the West Philippine Sea. I am just the icebreaker to warm up again our good friendly neighborly relations with China, and that’s all I have to do and maybe that’s all I can do.

Source: The Standard August 08, 2016 16:52 UTC