China urged the Philippines to take substantial measures to resolve the 2010 Manila hostage crisis which left 8 Hong Kong tourists and the Filipino hostage taker dead. In a report by Chinese agency Xinhua, Beijing said Manila should address the concerns of the victims’ families. They also demanded an apology from the Philippine government, compensation, and punishment of Philippine officials responsible for the bungled police operation. We continually call upon the Philippine government to attach great importance to the deep concerns and requests of the victims family members. We also demand that they adopt a reasonable and effective method to appropriately solve this problem as soon as possible. We also support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Regional government and the Philippine government maintain close communication and coordination, spokeswoman of Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying said The South China Morning Post meanwhile reported Hong Kong and Philippine authorities have agreed to begin official talks on the Manila bus hostage crisis. But neither Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung nor the victims’ families expect an early resolution. Were taking a small step in the right direction... [but] I dont think anyone should overpromise the results of further dialogue between Hong Kong and the Philippines, Leung said in a statement. President Aquino earlier said he has no plans of apologizing to Hong Kong for the tragedy. Meanwhile, territorial disputes in the South China Sea are expected to take center stage in the ASEAN summit in Brunei. The 10 Southeast Asian Nations will be holding a dialogue with Chinese premier Li Keqiang Wednesday hoping to arrive at a common policy handling territorial disputes. The talks would be a step forward towards a binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, said President Aquino. Beijing meanwhile said it is not in a hurry to quickly conclude the talks. Aside from the territorial row, Aquino and fellow world leaders will also tackle support for micro, small, and medium enterprises. They are also aiming to deepen engagement with ASEAN partners.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 02:09:35 +0000
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