The Chinese naval training ship "Qi Jiguang" arrives at the Port of Manila for a four-day goodwill visit, in Manila, Philippines, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
A Chinese navy training vessel berthed in the Philippines for a rare port visit as the two countries contest reefs and waters in the South China Sea.
Dragon dances and a brass band greeted the 165m (542-foot) Qi Jiguang in Manila to mark its final stop on a South-East Asian tour through Vietnam, Thailand and Brunei.
More than 300 people, including Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, defence attache to the Philippines Li Jianzhong, staff of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, representatives of Chinese companies, local Chinese associations and Chinese students, as well as representatives of the Philippine Navy, welcomed ship Qi Jiguang at the port.
“It’s a goodwill visit,” Chinese ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian told reporters, without offering details.
During the visit to the Philippines, the ship commanders will pay a courtesy call to the commander of the Philippine Navy and officials of the Philippine Department of National Defence, and attend a welcome dinner hosted by the Philippine Navy.
Commissioned in 2017, the ship “conveys the concept of mutual trust concerning China’s peaceful development”, read a leaflet distributed by its crew to visitors.
Beijing claims most of the strategic South China Sea including waters close to Philippine shores, ignoring a 2016 international tribunal ruling that voided its claims.
The Qi Jiguang, which is larger than any Philippine warship or coastguard vessel, is the first Chinese navy ship to visit the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos won the presidency last year.
Marcos said last week that ties between the Philippines and China were “evolving” but denied he was shifting away from Beijing.
“As to the differences between China and the Philippines, certainly they exist, but it is not something that will define our relationship,” Marcos added.
His more assertive approach contrasts with that of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who attempted to woo the Asian power to secure infrastructure deals and other investments.
The Duterte government welcomed several Chinese navy warships to the Philippines during his term as president from 2016 to 2022.
He personally set foot on board three Chinese vessels including a destroyer and a frigate that docked in his hometown of Davao City in 2017.
The Qi Jiguang is in Manila until Saturday and will be open to the public for two hours each day, the Chinese embassy said.
Named after Qi Jiguang, a national hero of the Ming Dynasty, the ship is the largest and most modernised homegrown professional training ship. — Agencies
