Philippines denies involvement in anti-China protests

5:33 pm | Saturday, May 12th, 2012

Filipino activists gather in front of the Chinese Consular Office in Makati to protest China’s ‘bullying’ in the West Philippine Sea. KIRK RONCESVALLES/INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang said Saturday the government had nothing to do with demonstrations against China for its incursion into the Scarborough Shoal which Manila claims to be part of the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Abigail Valte, one of President Benigno Aquino’s spokespersons, made the statement after the Chinese foreign ministry accused the Philippine government of escalating tensions following noisy but peaceful protests in Manila.

“We hope that our Chinese friends do not take this as any provocative act on the part of the Philippine government because, again, as I said, it’s a private initiative by private citizens,” Valte said on the state-run radio station dzRB.

Hong Lei, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, accused the Philippine government of encouraging the protests against China in Manila and in other capitals around the world.

“It’s a wrong action that complicates and magnifies the issue,” Hong said.

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Tags: Diplomacy , Foreign affairs , Philippine-China relations , Protest , South China Sea , territorial disputes , West Philippine Sea

jack jones

umiral na nman ang pagiging duwag ng mga nasa gobyerno.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/J4X5RZIRHCGVSXJWSH7DEFN6WI rodger66

parang sinabing tayo pa ang may kasalanan…

jack jones

uu, mga walang kwentang opisyal….

Vernon UK London

Takot naman pala itong Insik na ito. Nahala, protesta , ipamukha at ipahiya ang mga insik na ito sa buong mundo.

I implore Lewis to continue our protests. Mrs. Lewis, you are our hero.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RODGSQGF3FFNFSKPZMR3GQTBFY Jan

i am a fil-chi investor living in Manila. from what i see here, PHL vs. China.. the one who’s really gaining from all this is the USA. consider this scenario – currently the US has debts from China (maybe billions of dollars) which they cant afford to pay yet, US then encourages PHL to fight back, (US sells JUNK to phils, like a reject ship) at the same time both PHL (phisix) and China(or HK) (Hangseng) index (stock market) and forex value falls (source: yahoo finance). result: US gets money from phils, and China currency falls.. viola! the US gets money and even gets a discount on their debt! shooting two birds in one stone. just my personal opinion.

redkinoko

You’re an investor so you should at least know the magnitudes of finances involved. The amount involved in selling decomission ships cannot even put a dent to what the US owes to China. The US will lose more in siding with the Philippines in terms of diplomatic grace with China than whatever it will earn in lending sips. Moreover, a war with the Philippines will not affect the Hang Seng since HK’s economy is pretty autonomous. At best it will take a short-term hit and bounce even higher because investors will leave the local bourse and transfer to safer havens instead. :|

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RODGSQGF3FFNFSKPZMR3GQTBFY Jan

totally correct, but what happens when a war happens between 2 countries.. foreign investors would be scared and the safer haven is US. US steals the investors, makes China’s value go down, makes its own higher and debt is instantly lessened.. so it really doesnt matter if US gives billions worth of money to support PHL, its like investing in war.

i hope people will stop thinking Americans are saints because it only serves its own interest
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RODGSQGF3FFNFSKPZMR3GQTBFY Jan

and thank you.. yours is about the only educated comment i read here. the rest seems to be just kids giving out irrelevant thoughts.

Bring back Phils Glory. Unite.

what a leadership?!

instead of keeping quiet you are still being nice to the country that offends us.

Malacanang, where does you loyalty lie? the people fighting in the streets are your constituents. why are you denying them?

VALTE, WRONG AND CONFUSED MOVE! You should resign you are a traitor!!!!

opinyonlangpo

The statement of Valte is right, the government did not organize it. It is a private initiative from Filipino citizens and we as Filipinos proudly show to the whole world that we can organize on our own whenever our sovereignity is trampled upon.
And maybe the Filipinos will fight for it also without the government.

Bring back Phils Glory. Unite.

abigail should be more mature next time…yes it is correct…but politically it is a very wrong move…she should learn…this is very unproductive for a national endeavor…we are communicating an impression…and her post demands a proper one…i don’t need to explain further…as you are taking her statement literally…we are not stupid people.

redkinoko

Shoddy article. The Philippines is not equal to The Philippine Government. You don’t have to be a journalist to figure this out. Where does Inquirer get its writers? :|
http://profile.yahoo.com/C2XYATZFGS6ZXXXF3UIDLTDHEQ Henri

I believe that both sides should look forwardly from this point. We indeed see some positive actions from both govts. Let move out of the tension ASAP. Majority of both nations want a good relationship, that is the bottom line.
http://profile.yahoo.com/E4GVKKPQQP5X32IY7RA6BTW23A Jepongie

Hoy mga kababayan gumising kyo tama lng ang move ng Malacanang
Inuuna nyo ksi yabang tska emotion.. Gumamit nman kyo ng utak ok.
Iwasan lng natin mag escalate ang sitwasyon let the government take the decisions first what
To do..demonstrations will not solve the situation it will only makes things
Difficult.

tagahuron

oh shut up…

tagahuron

Whether PHL government has involvement or not in the protest is irrelevant. We tell to the Chinese Communists that the PHL is a democratic country and it is a right of the citizens to exercise those rights. May we remind the Chinese government that the PHL is NOT a communist country and stop meddling into our own affairs!!

http://www.facebook.com/khelza.mccarthy Khelza McCarthy

I think we Filipinos going beyond the definition of “democracy”. I believe that that protest will only worsen the situation.

Philippines denies involvement in anti-China protests

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