Philippine House Speaker voices opposition to Chen's "dangerous move"

Philippine House Speaker Jose de Venecia said on Wednesday that Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian's decision to cease the function of "National Unification Council" and the application of its guidelines was a dangerous move.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, de Venecia said it would lead to a deterioration in the cross-strait situation and was detrimental to the peace and stability of the whole Asia-Pacific region.

He added that any worsening of relations should be prevented at all costs for the sake of peace, and called on Chen to review his decision and stop his unilateral act.

De Venecia said the Philippines wanted to see the momentum of peace and stability to progress in the region, as well as an improvement in cross-strait relations.

"So any move to disturb the status quo is not only opposed by the Philippines, but by all ASEAN countries," he said.

Source: Xinhua