President Xi Jinping on Monday sent an official congratulatory message to the Philippines' President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, saying that China hopes to get its relations with the Philippines back on track. The relationship between both countries has been severely affected by their dispute the South China Sea.    

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"The friendly, stable and healthy development of Sino-Philippine relations accords with the basic interests of both countries and both peoples," Xi said in his message. "(I) hope both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track."  

Beijing and Manila are currently awaiting a ruling on the South China Sea case by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Hague, Netherlands. The case was initiated by the Philippines in 2014 to settle the longstanding territorial dispute in the South China Sea. China has already stated that it would not accept the judgment by the tribunal court.

However, the pressure on Beijing is growing with a host of international leaders assembled at the recently concluded G7 Summit issuing a strong statement against China. G7 leaders called on China to abide by international laws to settle maritime disputes in the Asia Pacific region.     

Rodrigo Duterte's overtures towards China   

During his election campaign last month, Duterte said that he is willing to engage in bilateral dialogue with China to resolve the South China Sea dispute.

Duterte's moderate stance towards China is a breakaway from the confrontational policy adopted by outgoing President Benigno Aquino.

The popular opinion currently among Chinese analysts and experts is that under Duerte's government, the Philippines will follow a more moderate and restrained policy with regards to South China Sea issue.

TagsXi Jinping, Rodrigo Duterte, Philippines, China and Philippines