Noy in no hurry to visit China

Manila, Philippines - President Aquino is in no hurry to visit China this year as details of the trip are still being finalized.

“No final plans yet but most probably in the third quarter,” Aquino responded by text when asked about the trip.

When asked to clarify whether the trip had originally been scheduled for May 22-25, Aquino said, “There is no unilateral decision. The dates are mutually agreed upon.”

In another text message, Aquino said, “No such schedule was ever finalized.”

China is looking forward to the visit, despite a slight diplomatic ruckus over its rejection of Philippines’ request for a stay in the execution of three Filipino drug traffickers last month.

The Philippines has also filed a diplomatic protest against China’s “9-dash line” territorial claim over the whole of the South China Sea.

Aquino is scheduled to leave for Jakarta, Indonesia on May 6 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

In November, the President will be in Hawaii for a meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation.

Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said Aquino’s visit to Beijing is expected to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

Liu said Chinese President Hu Jintao has already sent a formal invitation to President Aquino.

“We’re still working on this. We hope he’ll be in China as soon as possible because we’re really going to take this chance as a perfect opportunity to strengthen our bilateral relations,” Liu earlier told reporters.

“Our relations are in very good shape so we want to make it more profitable and beneficial to the peoples of our two countries,” he added. –With Pia Lee-Brago