Former President of the Philippines, Fidel Ramos, has said he would act as an ice breaker and forge warmer relations with China. Ramos arrived in Hong Kong on Monday and will hold talks with Chinese officials to help ease tensions that arose from the South China Sea dispute.
88-year-old Ramos served as the Philippine president from 1992 to 1998, and has maintained good ties with China even after stepping down from office. His appointment as a special envoy comes after Manila's unilateral move to bring the South China Sea dispute to an arbitral tribunal in The Hague. China dismissed the ruling issued on July 12th as "null and void with no binding force", and stressed that it stands ready to continue to resolve disputes peacefully through negotiation.
