Chinese Ambassador to Manila, Ma Keqing. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Despite the frayed ties between the Philippines and China over unresolved territorial disputes, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario gave outgoing Chinese Ambassador to Manila Ma Keqing a cordial farewell on Monday.
As Ma prepared to end her two-year Manila posting, Del Rosario hosted a farewell lunch before the Christmas break, describing her as “our dear friend.”
Del Rosario said he hoped Ma would share with the Chinese people her experience of the “kindness, warmth and courage of the Filipino people.”
“Our farewell exchange was friendly and positive,” Del Rosario told the Inquirer of his last meeting with Ma at a Manila hotel.
In his toast, Del Rosario acknowledged how “challenges” have marked the relations between the Philippines and China, an indirect reference to disputes over the resource-rich West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
“Your posting here has been marked by challenges. Notwithstanding, Ambassador, you have experienced the kindness, warmth and courage of the Filipino people. You were able to know more of how the Filipinos feel, think and act to uphold what we believe is right,” said Del Rosario in his remarks, a copy of which was furnished the Inquirer.
“Our friendship is historic and deep, and we hope this bond will enable us to surmount the challenges so that our two countries can flourish in the spirit of deep mutual respect,” said the Philippines’ top diplomat.
Recounting Ma’s response, Del Rosario said the outgoing envoy also acknowledged the challenges and hoped that the next Chinese ambassador to the Philippines could bridge the gap between the two countries.
Ma said she “wished she could have done better,” Del Rosario said, quoting the envoy.
“But she learned a lot about our people, our complex political culture, and made many friends. It is her hope that her successor will be able to bring our countries closer,” he added.
Ma also expressed her intent to visit Manila again, and Del Rosario assured her of a warm welcome when she returns.
Ma served as China’s envoy to the Philippines for nearly two years, having been posted here in January 2012.
Her stay was punctuated by heated diplomatic incidents between the two countries, including the standoff between Philippine and Chinese vessels at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in the summer of 2012; a flurry of diplomatic protests by the Philippines over repeated Chinese incursions in the country’s exclusive economic zone; heated exchanges in international meets, and Manila’s arbitration bid against Beijing.
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