51.   Ramos suggested to Jiang that the Philippines set up a sanctuary for fishermen in the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea, a presidential palace statement said.

52.   President Fidel Ramos visited the southwestern province of Palawan nearest the disputed Spratly islands Thursday and encouraged Filipino fishermen to fish in Manila-claimed Spratly waters.

53.   The conference agenda included the Korean peninsula, China-Taiwan tension and the six-nation Spratly islands dispute.

54.   The disputed Spratly islands claimed by China and five other countries in the region also loom large at the gathering.

55.   The Philippines is among six nations claiming partly or wholly the Spratly islands in the South China Sea.