BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives Jose De Venecia said here Saturday that Asian parties should shelve their political differences and improve cooperation to maintain a peaceful and stable Asia for the next 100 years.

  De Venecia came to China to attend the Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which opened here on Friday."Terrorism poses one of the greatest challenges in southeast Asia, south Asia and central Asia, and it is a problem that Asian political parties should join hands to deal with," he said in a joint interview of Chinese press. 

  Due to religious and cultural conflicts, many countries in Asia,including the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri-lanka, suffer from the threat of terrorism, which represents a great obstacle barring Asia from turning prosperous and stable, De Venecia said.

  The Philippine political leader said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was initiated by China and Russia, was a vital force in combating terrorism. 

  "The ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) powers should coordinate with the SCO to reduce the areas of terrorist activities in Asia," he said.

  Born in 1936, De Venecia is an active figure in Philippine politics. He was twice elected Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives and remained in the post from 1992 to 1998. In 2001, he was elected by majority vote as the speaker for the third time. He ran for President of the Philippines in May 1998, finishing second among 10 candidates.

  De Venecia is also active in Asian politics. In Sept. 2000, he and his party initiated the First International Conference of Asian Political Parties. Leaders of Asian ruling and opposition political parties from 21 nations came to Manila to consider proposals for an Asian Parliament, an Asian Monetary Fund and other mechanisms of cooperation.

  "The creation of an Asian Parliament may not be established soon. It may take 10 to 15 years," De Venecia said. "But we've started the process, through which we can move towards one economic Asia, one political Asia and one eventual great Asia Union. That's one of the reasons that we are holding this historic meeting in Beijing."

  As national chairman of the Philippines' ruling party, the Lakas-National Union of Christian Muslim Democrats, De Venecia said his party was the first Philippine political party which entered party-to-party relations with the Communist Party of China(CPC).

  "One of the virtues of the CPC is its strong political will, its staunch sense of discipline and its visionary goals, which have led to the remarkable opening of the country to the rest of the world," he said.

  De Venecia said the CPC was against hegemony in Asia. "This policy contributes to peace and stability in Asia as well as in the world."

  He said the ties between the Philippines and China were "very good," and trade between the two countries has been expanding rapidly. 

  The successful visit by Philippine President Arroyo will bring about further cooperation between the two countries in agriculture,natural resource, information, information technology and security,he said.

  The two countries also agreed that the early and vigorous implementation of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea will pave the way for the transformation of the South China Sea into an area of cooperation,De Venecia said.

  The three-day Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties opened in Beijing Friday, with over 350 representatives from 82 political parities from China and other 34 Asian countries.

  "The conference offers a good platform for Asian political parties to improve exchange and cooperation. We are very proud to hold this meeting. It is also the first of its kind in the world,"he said. 

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