By Shannon Tiezzi
China is hoping the South China Sea issue won’t get raised on what looks to be an ice-breaking trip for Xi Jinping.
Fresh off the Chinese president’s tours of Vietnam and Singapore last week, China’s Foreign Ministry had another announcement on Monday: Xi Jinping also plans to attend the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit, to be held November 18-19 in the Philippines. That will bring Xi into the lion’s den, so to speak. Manila has been one of the most outspoken critics of China’s moves in the South China Sea, even filing a case against China in an international arbitral tribunal. It’s another indication that China is trying to mend frayed relationship with ASEAN states, even as Xi shows no sign of changing his country’s approach to the maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
Tensions between China and the Philippines are especially high. Philippine President Benigno Aquino hasn’t met with Xi since last year’s APEC summit in Beijing, when the two had a brief encounter on the sidelines of the summit. According to Marciano Paynor, the head of the Philippines’ APEC organizing committee, an official bilateral meeting between the two leaders has not yet been scheduled, but they are expected to meet.
China, however, hopes that Xi won’t face questions or criticism about the South China Sea issue at the APEC summit. Vice Foreign Minister Li Baodong, who gave a press conference on Xi’s attendance at the APEC summit, said that “as far as I know, at this year’s summit, there are no plans to discuss the South China Sea.”
“Everyone knows that APEC is primarily about discussing trade and financial cooperation in the Asia Pacific,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi carried a similar message on a working visit to the Philippines on Tuesday, part of the final preparations for Xi’s visit next week. According to Charles Jose, Wang’s delegation “expressed hope the contentious issues will not be raised” at the summit. Jose pledged that the Philippines “will endeavor on our side not to raise contentious maritime issues,” saying that APEC is “not the proper forum” for such discussions. However, Jose said Manila would not prevent other leaders from raising the issue.
Read the full story at The Diplomat