MANILA (UPDATE) — Some countries have offered prayers and assistance to the Philippines after a powerful earthquake rattled parts of Luzon, killing at least four persons and damaging structures.

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said his "prayers go to all Filipinos for their safety."

"If there’s anything that we can be of help to the Filipino people, we will be ready," Huang said during the opening of a photo exhibit on China-Philippines Cooperation Achievements at the SM Mall of Asia.

In separate tweets, the Embassy of France in the Philippines and the Ambassador of Japan expressed sympathies to the affected residents of Abra province and its nearby areas.

The European Union Delegation to the Philippines also extended sympathies through Twitter.

"Our thoughts are with the affected population by the #EarthquakePH notably in the Abra area. Follow @phivolcs_dost for updates and stay safe! #EUinthePhilippines," it said.

CHINA SAYS TO ALWAYS PRIORITIZE PHILIPPINES IN DIPLOMACY

Meanwhile, Huang said China “will always prioritize the Philippines” in its “neighborhood diplomacy” to maintain “continuity and stability” in its “friendly policy” towards Manila. 

“China is willing to strengthen communication with the new Philippine government, follow through with the blueprint for bilateral and friendly cooperation, and shift it to a higher gear,” he added.

He said China is ready to work with the Philippines in four key areas: large-scale agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s priorities.

“Both sides remain committed to becoming good neighbors that help each other, good relatives that share mutual understanding and enjoy close bonds, and good partners that pursue cooperation and win-win results, so as to push for the upgrading of bilateral cooperation and usher in a ‘golden age’ in bilateral relations,” Huang said. 

Speaking to reporters, Huang also said China is ready to restart negotiations with the Philippines on oil and gas cooperation, which stopped before the Duterte administration ended its term.

“In the field of energy… we hope we will continue to work on oil and gas cooperation. And we hope we will restart the negotiation and find out some solution for the benefits of our two peoples, to meet the demand of energy of this country and China,” the envoy said.

He said China is also ready to offer its expertise to the Philippines in the area of clean energy. 

“We need to work harder on clean energy,” Huang said. 

“We are one of the leading players in terms of clean energy. So we are ready to work with this country, share our technology, share our expertise with this country to move forward hand-in-hand,” he said. 

On the President’s first State of the Nation Address, Huang said he was "very impressed" by Marcos’ remarks on independent foreign policy.

“We are still studying the speech of the SONA but I do think that it sent out a very encouraging signal, messages to the people of this country and the world. Based on the policies of the new administration, we will achieve even greater in the next 6 years,” Huang said.

Marcos reiterated in his SONA he will not abandon a portion of the Philippine territory.

China has been criticized for its incursions in the West Philippine Sea even despite a landmark arbitral ruling in 2016 invalidating the historical basis of its claims in the said waters.

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