Philippines: Chinese Ambassador blamed media coverage for antitrust against China

Philippines: Filipinos' strong distrust of China may have been the result of "distorted" media reports about activities of Beijing, the country's envoy said Friday.

"It's normal for Filipino people to have some different views about China, but what I want to emphasize is that after my arrival here since late last year, I have been surprised many times by those distorted media coverage and those reports which do not give the whole picture of China and China-Philippine relations," Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian told CNN Philippines' The Source.

He did acknowledge concerns on maritime issues, which have been the main point of disagreement by the two states. A poll done by the Social Weather Stations in July showed a "bad" -36 trust rating towards China, against a +42 rating towards the United States and +27 for Australia. Huang said the survey results was due to a lack of understanding amid allegedly lopsided news reports putting China in bad light.


"I’ve been thinking about this. One is because of a lack of understanding, and lack of understanding leads to lack of confidence and lack of trust," the foreign envoy said. "I have also found with concern that most of our Filipino friends, they understand China through the perspective of West media. Obviously, some of the West media have bias about China so that caused a misleading role to Filipinos who try to understand China," he added.

Huang repeatedly called locals as "Filipino friends," downplaying the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea as something where the two nations can "agree to disagree." The SWS survey showed three out of five Filipinos believed that China held back information on COVID-19, which may have hampered prevention and treatment efforts worldwide.


He then cited efforts to improve people's impressions towards China, citing millions of Chinese tourists visiting the country and the promotion of cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

President Rodrigo Duterte has actively taken a friendly stance towards Beijing since assuming office in 2016. However, critics say China is not to be trusted as it refuses to recognize the July 2016 arbitral ruling which dismissed Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea, and instead continues its incursions and reclamation activities in the disputed waters. (courtesy:cnn)

Australia to continue to support freedom of navigation in South China sea: scott morrison

Canberra: Australia will continue to advocate "very strongly" for the freedom of navigation through the South China Sea, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday.

"Australia has played a very constructive role in relation to the South China Sea. We had an observer status when the matter was being considered and we've continued to advocate very strongly for freedom of navigation through those waters and we've been very supportive whether it's been of Indonesia or I remember standing next to Prime Minister Phuc in Vietnam and commending him on the strong position that he has taken when it is in relation to their interests being compromised in relation to the South China Sea." Morrison told a media briefing in Canberra when asked if the country backed the position of the United States on the contested waterway.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday (June 15) the United States would support countries that believed China has violated their maritime claims in the South China Sea, but stressed doing so in multilateral and legal forums.

Scott Morrison said, "So look Australia will continue to adopt a very supportive position of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. We back that up with our own actions and our own initiatives and our own statements. But we'll say it the Australian way, we'll say it the way that it's in our interests to make those statements and we'll continue to adopt a very consistent position. It is a matter that is frequently raised when we have dialogue with our colleagues, whether it's been at several East Asia summits or other opportunities I have at bilaterals with my counterparts in the region. It is an issue of keen interest and it is one that Australia has taken a keen interest in. But we've engaged respectfully and we've engaged proactively and we've engaged practically."

China claims most of the energy-rich South China Sea, within a U-shaped "nine-dash line" on its maps that is not recognised by its neighbours, several of whom have overlapping claims.