By Janvic Mateo
MANILA, Philippines - China has expressed alarm over the visit of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año to Pag-Asa Island last Friday, saying it ran counter to an “important consensus” reached between the leaders of the two countries.
“Gravely concerned about and dissatisfied with this, China has lodged representations with the Philippine side,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said in a press briefing before the weekend.
Lu said China’s President Xi Jinping and President Duterte had reached a consensus “to properly deal with the South China Sea issue.”
“We hope that the Philippine side could cherish the hard-won sound momentum of development the bilateral relations are experiencing, faithfully follow the consensus reached between the two leaderships, maintain general peace and stability in the South China Sea, and promote the sound and steady development of China-Philippine relations,” he added.
But Lu said they are still verifying the facts regarding the visit, and that Manila and Beijing have been in constant communication on how to manage maritime issues since Duterte’s visit to China last year.
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