Aquino praises Beijing over handling of consul shooting in Cebu, Philippines
Philippines President Benigno Aquino has praised Beijing for being "quite professional" in the way it handled the repatriation of two Chinese suspects in the killing of two diplomats in Cebu last week.
"I think they were quite professional. They issued the appropriate forms, whether it's the diplomatic notes ... They adhered to all of the agreements without changing any of the rules," Aquino told the when asked during a foreign correspondents forum about Beijing invoking diplomatic immunity for the suspects.
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The remains of deputy consul general Sun Shian and the consulate's finance officer Hui Li - who were shot in the neck and head, respectively - were repatriated on Saturday without an autopsy taking place.
Aquino added that "all the participants - whether as alleged assailants and the victims - were all of a single nationality. Therefore, we trust that justice will be served under their own system of laws and judicial processes."
The police were still investigating how the assailant obtained a firearm, he said.
Cebu City officials, belonging to the opposition UNA Party, indicated they were unhappy the president had agreed to grant diplomatic immunity.
They said they were considering filing a diplomatic protest after the suspects, Li Quingliang and his wife Gou Jing, were flown back to China on Friday without undergoing judicial proceedings.
, the city's most prominent daily, quoted the city's vice-mayor, Edgardo Labella, as saying: "It is my respectful submission that consular officials are not covered by the diplomatic immunity provision".
In defending his action, Aquino cited a 2009 consular agreement between the countries and the 1961 Vienna Convention. "The functions of the diplomat and the consul have merged in so many different instances. So, in practice, that protection is afforded to both," Aquino said.
Manila had "a few" similar agreements with other countries, including the United States.
Aquino was also asked at the forum whether the Philippines would join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. "We're still considering the invitation," he said.
