writers Yang Ke, Wang Wen
MANILA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The relationship between China and the Philippines, which has been strained by territorial disputes in the South China Sea, will experience a fresh start after incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte assumes office, experts here said on Friday.
"Every incoming president, every incoming administration has the advantage of a fresh start," Lauro Baja, a former ambassador, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.
Relations between China and the Philippines have soured during the six-year of outgoing President Benigno Aquino, whose government brought China to the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague over the disputes in the South China Sea.
Unlike Aquino, incoming President Duterte, who will assume office on June 30, has said that he is willing to engage China in bilateral talks on the issue.
Benito Lim, political science professor at the University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University, said Duterte is the new president so he has to show that he is willing to accommodate and he is ready to talk.
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