China will “prioritize” the Philippines on COVID-19 vaccine delivery, according to DFA.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said that China will “prioritize” the Philippines on COVID-19 vaccine delivery.
The Department of Foreign Affairs, China had assured that it would continue to prioritize the Philippines despite the tightening of the global supply of COVID-19 vaccines.
According to the DFA, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Counselor Wang Yi gave the assurance to Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr during their bilateral talks at the sidelines of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Chongqing, China last week.
The meeting between Yi and Locsin occurred on the eve of the 46th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Philippines last June 9, 2021.
Locsin then thanked China for the timely provision of a steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines as the Philippines accelerated its COVID-19 vaccination program.
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During the said meeting, Locsin and Yi acknowledged the great strides achieved in the last 46 years of official ties, especially in the areas of trade, tourism, infrastructure, development assistance, and overall political and diplomatic relations.
Locsin also said that China had become a key economic partner of the Philippines, becoming the Philippines’ largest trading partner and third largest export and tourism market in 2020.
Aside from China’s assurance on COVID-19 vaccine supply, both sides agreed to China’s participation in the Philippines’ “Build, Build, Build” Program and closer engagement within the ASEAN-China dialogue mechanism currently led by the Philippines as the country coordinator.
Locsin also highlighted the important role China will play in the global economic recovery.
“There can be no swift recovery without China’s leading economic role, in partnership with countries in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world,” Locsin said.
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Despite the more than a hundred diplomatic protests filed by the Philippines over repeated incursions of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea, both sides welcomed the progress in negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and also reaffirmed the importance of self-restraint and the peaceful resolution of differences within the framework of international law, especially 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
“As the two countries approach half a century of partnership, both ministers looked forward to a further expansion of Philippines-China ties in the context of regional peace and stability,” the DFA said.
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