Philippine
former 5-Time House Speaker Jose de Venecia, founding chairman of the
International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) that represent more
than 340 political parties, met in Manila with Northern Watch Newspaper’s political
columnist Mortz C. Ortigoza to discuss U.S President Barrack Obama’s phone call
to Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte on the South China Sea’s row,
immediate bilateral talks with the Chinese, his intercession for China, Vietnam,
and the Philippines that signed a seismic and geological test, and joint exploration,
excerpts:
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| Jose de Venecia Jr, Founding Chairman of International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), speaks during a signing ceremony with the foreign members of the group. |
MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA: U.S President Obama called
President – Elect Duterte to wait for the decision of the (United Nation) arbitration
(tribunal in The Hague). The Philippine president answered that if the situation
still goes in still water he would go for bilateral talks with the Chinese. I know
you advocated that talk, what’s your take then?
JOSE DE VENECIA (JDV):
If the talks are at the level of the Arbitration Panel, we could continue. Anyway,
it should be in the few weeks from now but then the bilateral talks at the
informal level should begin immediately.
Begin
immediately?
At the informal level.
Was
Obama correct when he told Duterte to wait first for the decision of the
Tribunal?
The formal way, the formal way because the
informal level can be (through) back channeling. But that channeling could not
wait.
