PHILIPPINE President Benigno Aquino said that the Huangyan Island dispute might soon be resolved as he gave assurances that discussions with China had taken a clearer direction.

    “Our discussions with China have never stopped. There is direction now, whereas before the talks were not as clear. Now there appears to be some clarity in the talks,” the president told reporters Monday.

    “It’s too early to say the situation has already cleared, but at least we are now moving toward resolving the situation using diplomatic means,” he said, adding that Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario was given “terms of reference” by various legal consultants on how to resolve the issue.

    Tensions in the South China Sea escalated April 10 when a Philippine warship harassed 12 Chinese fishing vessels that had sailed near the island to seek shelter from inclement weather.

    Experts said Aquino’s comments reflected that the Philippine side had softened its position. The Philippines is believed to have been under pressure from both the United States and its own people, said Ren Yuanzhe, a researcher at China Foreign Affairs University.

    China, through Defense Minister Liang Guanglie’s visit to the United States and the Sino-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue that recently ended, has informed the United States of its position in the South China Sea, and the United States does not want to see the situation deteriorate, he said.

    (SD-Agencies)