Philippine envoy to China might be replaced, says DFA chief

MANILA, Philippines–Ambassador to China Sonia Brady, who was recovering slowly from a stroke, might be replaced, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said on Monday.

“There is that possibility [that she would be replaced], yes,’’ Del Rosario told reporters in a chance interview after rites marking National Heroes’ Day at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig City.

Del Rosario, who visited Brady in Beijing last Saturday following her stroke, said he would “have to discuss’’ the matter of her possible replacement with President Benigno Aquino III.

“She’s not able to speak,’’ he said when asked if Brady expressed any intention to quit for health reasons. “She’s recovering slowly. Hopefully if the recovery rate continues, we may be able to bring her back to the Philippines.’’

Del Rosario said she was “being well cared for’’ and the Chinese foreign ministry was “monitoring the situation very carefully.’’

Brady, 71, was rushed to hospital after she passed out in her residence in Beijing last Wednesday.  She earlier served as ambassador to China from 2006 to 2012.

Del Rosario, who also met with Chinese counterpart Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing, said this has no effect on Manila’s efforts at finding solutions to its dispute with Beijing over some parts of the West Philippine Sea.

“We have a charge (d’affaires) there. So I think there would be no adverse impact to that,’’ he said.

While Brady was recovering, the “deputy chief of mission’’ took over the affairs of the embassy, foreign affairs officials said.

Del Rosario also said deploying ships anew to Panatag Shoal was “being contemplated’’ by the President.

“I think the President is contemplating that,’’ he said.

Manila and Beijing have been locked in a standoff over the ownership of the resource-rich shoal, also called Scarborough Shoal, in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

Manila has been seeking a diplomatic solution to the dispute, which began when Philippine maritime authorities caught Chinese fishermen with supposedly illegally harvested turtles and coral already loaded onto their vessel.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the sea, which is believed to hold vast amounts of oil and gas, is one of the region’s most important fishing grounds, and is home to shipping lanes that are vital to global trade.

The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan claim parts of the sea.