Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, should meet with Philippine Foreign Minister Lazaro while attending a series of foreign ministers' meetings on East Asia Cooperation in Manila on the 22nd to explain China's solemn position to the Philippines and strongly protest against the outrageous act of Philippine personnel colliding with Chinese law enforcement vessels at Renai Reef. Wang Yi said that in the past few years, Sino-Philippine relations have continued to face difficult challenges. This is clearly not in the interests of both sides, and is even more harmful to the development of the Philippines itself. In the face of a turbulent and intertwined world, we are supposed to work together to maintain the region's hard-won peaceful development situation, yet the Philippines' approach runs counter to other countries in the region and has become a source of interference with regional peace and stability. Facts have proven that allowing outside forces to interfere and deliberately hype up differences at sea will only become a tool to be used by others. If you try to use foreign countries to cause trouble, in the end, you will only be able to swallow the bitter fruits of your own making. Unfortunately, whenever China and the Philippines want to engage in dialogue, there are people in the Philippines, especially some forces in the military and police departments, who deliberately create incidents and disrupt the progress of the dialogue. These people have a bad heart. What they want is not the welfare of the Philippine people, but they are carrying out the will of external forces and also seeking personal self-interest. Currently, Sino-Philippine relations stand at a crossroads; where to go requires the Philippines to make the right and rational choices. Wang Yi stressed that the key to developing Sino-Philippine relations is to grasp the right direction. China has never been a security threat to the Philippines; it has never invaded or colonized the Philippines in history. It is an objective fact that China and the Philippines have territorial and maritime border disputes. China has always been committed to managing differences and stabilizing the situation through bilateral dialogue and consultation. However, the Philippines deviated from bilateral negotiation channels and, encouraged by extraterritorial forces, set up a temporary “arbitral tribunal” team to concoct a so-called “ruling” that was illegal and invalid. China did not accept, participate in, or even acknowledge it from the beginning. The Philippines should immediately stop its provocative acts on the maritime issue, strictly abide by the promises it has made to China so far, and make practical efforts to stabilize bilateral relations. Lazaro said that the Philippines and China have a long history of exchanges and are neighbors who cannot move away. The Philippines has always followed the one-China policy and fulfilled its promise to establish diplomatic relations. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Philippines hopes to find an appropriate solution to the sea-related issues through dialogue and seek to improve bilateral relations.

Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister, should meet with Philippine Foreign Minister Lazaro while attending a series of foreign ministers' meetings on East Asia Cooperation in Manila on the 22nd to explain China's solemn position to the Philippines and strongly protest against the outrageous act of Philippine personnel colliding with Chinese law enforcement vessels at Renai Reef. Wang Yi said that in the past few years, Sino-Philippine relations have continued to face difficult challenges. This is clearly not in the interests of both sides, and is even more harmful to the development of the Philippines itself. In the face of a turbulent and intertwined world, we are supposed to work together to maintain the region's hard-won peaceful development situation, yet the Philippines' approach runs counter to other countries in the region and has become a source of interference with regional peace and stability. Facts have proven that allowing outside forces to interfere and deliberately hype up differences at sea will only become a tool to be used by others. If you try to use foreign countries to cause trouble, in the end, you will only be able to swallow the bitter fruits of your own making. Unfortunately, whenever China and the Philippines want to engage in dialogue, there are people in the Philippines, especially some forces in the military and police departments, who deliberately create incidents and disrupt the progress of the dialogue. These people have a bad heart. What they want is not the welfare of the Philippine people, but they are carrying out the will of external forces and also seeking personal self-interest. Currently, Sino-Philippine relations stand at a crossroads; where to go requires the Philippines to make the right and rational choices. Wang Yi stressed that the key to developing Sino-Philippine relations is to grasp the right direction. China has never been a security threat to the Philippines; it has never invaded or colonized the Philippines in history. It is an objective fact that China and the Philippines have territorial and maritime border disputes. China has always been committed to managing differences and stabilizing the situation through bilateral dialogue and consultation. However, the Philippines deviated from bilateral negotiation channels and, encouraged by extraterritorial forces, set up a temporary “arbitral tribunal” team to concoct a so-called “ruling” that was illegal and invalid. China did not accept, participate in, or even acknowledge it from the beginning. The Philippines should immediately stop its provocative acts on the maritime issue, strictly abide by the promises it has made to China so far, and make practical efforts to stabilize bilateral relations. Lazaro said that the Philippines and China have a long history of exchanges and are neighbors who cannot move away. The Philippines has always followed the one-China policy and fulfilled its promise to establish diplomatic relations. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The Philippines hopes to find an appropriate solution to the sea-related issues through dialogue and seek to improve bilateral relations.