Philippine government confirmed it has already raised the presence of Chinese vessels around Pag-asa Island and the reported harvesting of giant clams in Panatag Shoal.
Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana said, the issues of Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal giant clams harvesting and Pag-asa Island swarming of Chinese vessels were discussed extensively during the last BCM.
Sta. Romana admitted that the two parties asserted different views and positions to the very contentious issue.
Philippines and China however agreed to resolve the issue through diplomatic negotiations, according to Sta. Romana.
“So the basic approach is, to discuss the disputes but to manage it so that they will not become — they will not turn into a crisis and also to manage it so that they will not be an obstacle to the development of areas of cooperation,” Sta. Romana said.
