Posted by Reginald Beltran/philippines on April 23, 1997 at 20:48:47:
The government of the Philippines is extremely elated
that UNOL-r1 was passed. With the passage of this
resolution we hope that China, Taiwan and other ASEAN
members can settle the Spratly issue. With this
conference, we hope that not only will China attend,
but we hope that they will have more extensive dialogue
with the government of Taiwan. My country believes
in that Taiwan should be allowed in the United Nations
Organization. They have their own form of government
and, though limited, has a good economy. The Philippines,
USA, India and many others rely on the trade with Taiwan.
We believe that by continuing our policy of preventing
Taiwan from the UN, it could result in a deterioration of
trade with that country due to political reasons. Again,
the government of the Philippines applauds all member
states in passing UNOL-R1. Hopefully, that by having
a conference where Taiwan and China are present, we
can not only settle the issue of the Spratly Islands, but
also promote peace between the nations of Taiwan and
China.