In HK, Ramos dines with senior lawmaker

Former Philippine president Fidel Ramos had dinner with senior Chinese official Fu Ying in Hong Kong on Wednesday, which was "a good start in breaking the ice" of strained relations, according to a former Philippine official who accompanied Ramos on the trip.

Rafael Alunan III, former interior and local government secretary of the Philippines, uploaded 20 photos of the dinner to his Facebook account on Thursday. In the photos, Fu, chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of China's top legislature, sat on the right side of Ramos, smiling while exchanging books as gifts.

"To defuse the crisis and explore opportunities is the mission. Our common ground is human and ecological security," Alunan wrote.