Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Vice President Vincent Siew and former Philippine President Fidel Ramos agreed Monday that Taiwan and the Philippines should resolve a month-long diplomatic row as soon as possible to restore relations.
The senior politicians held a breakfast meeting on the last day of Ramos' five-day visit to Taiwan and discussed a wide range of issues, said Matthew Lee, director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Siew and Ramos did not speak to reporters after the one-hour meeting in downtown Taipei, which was Ramos' last engagement on his tour that was focused on attending a golf tournament and leading a delegation of businessmen from the Philippines to explore business opportunities in Hsinchu, Nantou and Changhua cities in Taiwan.
According to Lee, Siew reiterated the Taiwan government's position on Manila's deportation of 14 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China Feb. 2 and said that the Philippines authorities should complete their investigations as soon as possible and hold accountable any government officials who were found to have mishandled the case.
Taipei and Manila should also establish a mechanism for mutual legal assistance to combat transnational crime, Lee quoted Siew as saying.
Ramos reiterated in the meeting that the Philippine government's investigation and possible reprimand of any officials who had mishandled the case were more important than a formal apology, Lee said.
The former president pledged to use his influence to help resolve the issue so that Taiwan and its southern neighbor could continue to build their longstanding friendship, Lee said.
Ramos said that he would report to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III upon his return to Manila Monday, according to Lee.
During his Taiwan visit, Ramos said repeatedly that it was private trip was for sports and business purposes.
On one occasion, he told reporters that the 80,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan had made a significant contribution to the country's economy.
Since the dispute over the deportation erupted, Taipei has tightened its screening of Filipinos seeking to work in Taiwan. According to the Council of Labor Affairs, it could now take up to four months to screen applications by new Filipino workers, compared with the previous 12-day maximum period. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc