(File photo) MANILA - The establishment of the bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea (SCS) is among the Duterte administration's legacies, a Filipino security and Chinese studies expert said Wednesday. Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies (PACS), said the BCM has allowed the two nations to deepen mutual trust and served as a platform to reduce misunderstanding on issues concerning the SCS. "Through the BCM, the Philippines and China are now seriously involved in a series of peaceful dialogues and frank consultations to seriously promote functional cooperation, manage security risks, and decisively avoid military conflicts despite the persistent national differences in the South China Sea," he said in a virtual forum organized by the Global Governance Institution. The BCM was created in 2016 following the state visit of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to China, with the inaugural meeting held in 2017. Under the s
(File photo) MANILA - The establishment of the bilateral consultation mechanism (BCM) on the South China Sea (SCS) is among the Duterte administration's legacies, a Filipino security and Chinese studies expert said Wednesday. Rommel Banlaoi, president of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies (PACS), said the BCM has allowed the two nations to deepen mutual trust and served as a platform to reduce misunderstanding on issues concerning the SCS. "Through the BCM, the Philippines and China are now seriously involved in a series of peaceful dialogues and frank consultations to seriously promote functional cooperation, manage security risks, and decisively avoid military conflicts despite the persistent national differences in the South China Sea," he said in a virtual forum organized by the Global Governance Institution. The BCM was created in 2016 following the state visit of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte to China, with the inaugural meeting held in 2017. Under the s