BEIJING, April 8. /TASS/. The current development of the international situation has proved that regional security cannot be ensured by strengthening military blocs, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday in a telephone conversation with his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte.
"The current development of the international situation has once again proved that regional security cannot be achieved by strengthening military blocs," the website of China's Foreign Ministry quotes him as saying.
As Xi Jinping pointed out, China is ready to work together with the Philippines and other countries in the region to firmly adhere to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, to protect peace and stability in the region together.
The Chinese president also noted that the country is ready to continue cooperating with the Philippines to promote bilateral relations, to continue supplying COVID-19 vaccines in accordance with the needs of the Philippine side, to strengthen cooperation in drug research and development, in public health, to expand trade and investment, education and humanitarian exchanges.
For his part, Duterte thanked China for its support in combating the pandemic and providing vaccines. He said that the Philippines is ready to work with China to strengthen friendship and cooperation and promote bilateral relations. He also emphasized that the Philippines is also ready to cooperate with the Chinese side to properly resolve the South China Sea issue, set an example for the peaceful resolution of disputes and to protect peace and stability in the region.
Tensions in the South China Sea have persisted for years over the claims of several countries in the region to the Spratly Archipelago and the neighboring Paracel Islands. In addition to their strategic location at the crossroads of maritime routes of the Indian and Pacific oceans, the value of the islands is also determined by the fact that their shelves, according to experts, have significant reserves of oil and minerals. Although Vietnam and China are the main players in the dispute over the ownership of these territories, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines also make partial or complete claims to the islands and their surrounding waters.