The Philippines’ representative office in Taipei held a celebration Thursday evening to mark the country’s national day.
During the celebrations, the Philippines’ representative to Taiwan, Antonio Basilio, said that Taiwan-Philippine relations were at their most strained ever last year. On May 9th last year, a Philippine coast guard opened fire on a Taiwanese fishing boat in overlapping waters. One Taiwanese fisherman was killed, and relations between Taiwan and the Philippines soured for some time after.
But Basilio said that both countries share the values of democracy and the rule of law, and must overcome difficulties such as last year’s incident. Basilio said that Taiwan and the Philippines will work towards consolidating and broadening their relationship in the future. He also said that the two countries will begin discussions on the possibility of a bilateral Economic Cooperation Agreement at the end of the year.
Deputy Foreign Minister Joseph Shih said that Taiwan’s integration into the regional economy will be beneficial for the Philippines as well. He said he hopes that both countries can sign an Economic Cooperation Agreement and strengthen bilateral relations
Meanwhile, the Philippine representative office’s chairman, Amadeo R. Perez thanked Taiwan for its help in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which caused enormous destruction in the Philippines last November. Perez said that Taiwan was one of the first countries to respond to the disaster. The representative office showed a film thanking Taiwan for its assistance following the massive storm.