Manila: In a rare port visit, a Chinese navy training ship docked in the Philippines on Wednesday as the two nations compete for control of reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
The 165-meter Qi Jiguang, which had previously visited Vietnam, Thailand, and Brunei, was welcomed in Manila by brass musicians and dragon dancers as its last stop on a Southeast Asian tour.
Huang Xilian, the ambassador of China to the Philippines, said to reporters simply, "It's a goodwill visit."
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The ship, which was commissioned in 2017, "conveys the concept of mutual trust regarding China's peaceful development," according to a leaflet that its crew handed out to visitors.
Beijing asserts sovereignty over the majority of the strategically important South China Sea, including the waters near the Philippine coast, despite a 2016 international tribunal decision that invalidated Beijing's claims.
According to Manila, Chinese coast guard or navy vessels frequently block or follow Philippine ships that are on supply missions to islands in the disputed sea that are home to Philippine garrisons.
Manila claimed in February that a Chinese vessel had fired a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard boat that was accompanying a supply ship to the Spratly Islands.
The first Chinese navy ship to visit the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s election as president last year is the Qi Jiguang, which is bigger than any Philippine warship or coast guard vessel. As tensions in the region over Chinese maritime activities increase, Marcos has vowed that Manila "will not lose an inch" of territory.
He acknowledged that relations between China and the Philippines were "evolving" last week, but he insisted that he was not abandoning Beijing.
“As to the differences between China and the Philippines, certainly they exist, but it is not something that will define our relationship,” Marcos added.
His more assertive approach contrasts with that of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who attempted to woo the Asian power to secure infrastructure deals and other investments.
The Duterte government welcomed several Chinese navy warships to the Philippines during his term as president from 2016 to 2022. He personally set foot on board three Chinese vessels including a destroyer and a frigate that docked in his hometown of Davao City in 2017.
In 2019 three more Chinese navy vessels, including two missile frigates, were welcomed to Manila by the Philippines’ then defense secretary.
Even though there are differences between China and the Philippines, Marcos continued, they do not define our relationship.
In contrast to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who tried to court the Asian superpower to secure infrastructure deals and other investments, he has a more assertive style.
Several Chinese navy warships visited the Philippines under the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022. Three Chinese ships, including a destroyer and a frigate, docked in his hometown of Davao City in 2017. He personally stepped on board all three of those ships.
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2019 saw the arrival in Manila of three more Chinese navy ships, including two missile frigates, who were greeted by the then-defense secretary of the Philippines.
The Qi Jiguang will be accessible to the public daily for two hours while it is in Manila until Saturday, according to the Chinese embassy.