PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday expressed hope that his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea, including the shadowing of Filipino vessels by China’s Coast Guard, during their meeting.
The meeting was reported late Monday by wire agencies and Chinese media. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it had no knowledge or information about Duterte’s trip to China. The Philippine Embassy in Beijing was silent on the visit.
Sen. Christopher Go, a long-time close aide of Duterte before becoming a senator, said the former President paid a courtesy visit on Monday to his friend, Xi, during a “private” trip to China early this week. He also said Duterte was invited by the Friends of the Philippines Foundation Inc. to lead the inauguration of the Soledad College Building in Fujian, China. The building was named after Soledad Duterte, the late mother of the former president.
Marcos said he knew Duterte was going to China, and the former president did not need his permission for the trip or to talk with Xi. He noted Duterte and Xi are friends.
“I hope that napag-usapan nila yung mga isyu na ngayon na mga nakikita natin, yung mga shadowing, yung mga kung anu-ano… para naman magkaroon tayo ng progress, kasi yun naman talaga ang habol natin e patuloy ang pag-uusap (I hope that they talked about the recent issues, the shadowing, among others. All of these things that we are seeing now. I hope they talked about it so we can have some progress, because that is what we are after, for the talks to continue),” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the pilot testing of the “Walang Gutom” Food Stamp Program in Tondo in Manila.
The President said he does not mind if it is Duterte who is able to talk with Xi or anyone else, as long as there is constant dialogue between Manila and Beijing especially on the dispute in the South China Sea.
Marcos said he welcomes “any new lines of communication” because it might help the situation.
During his state visit to China in January, Marcos said he and Xi agreed to establish direct communications between the two countries about the situation in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea, and to find a “compromise and solution” that would enable Filipino fishermen to return to traditional fishing grounds.
Chinese vessels, however, continued to stay inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, and even prevent Filipinos from fishing.
Marcos said he expects Duterte to eventually share what happened during his conversation with Xi “and (we will) see how that affects us.”
Xi was reported to have told Duterte to continue to promote cooperation between the two countries, after bilateral relations cooled, with Marcos seeking closer ties with Washington.
“I hope you will continue to play an important role in the friendly cooperation (between China and the Philippines),” state media quoted Xi as saying during a meeting at the Diaoyutai state guest-house in Beijing on Monday.
Under Marcos, relations between China and the Philippines have grown tense, with Manila pivoting back to its traditional ally, the United States.
The Philippines and the US reaffirmed a decades-old security alliance during a visit by Marcos to the White House in May, where President Joe Biden said the US commitment to defending its ally was “ironclad.”
Washington has pledged to defend the Philippines, which allowed the US access to four additional military bases this year, angering Beijing.
Marcos has said granting US access to the bases was a defensive step that would be “useful” if China attacked democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.
China has always insisted on being friendly with its neighbors, which it sees as its partners, Xi said, without commenting on the state of current bilateral ties.
“During your tenure as president of the Philippines, you had resolutely made the strategic choice to improve relations with China in an attitude of being responsible to the people and to history,” Xi told Duterte.
Last month, Duterte told local media that the Philippines could become a “graveyard” if it gets caught up in US-China tensions.
Go said Duterte took the opportunity to pay XI a courtesy visit to personally thank the Chinese president for the help extended by Beijing to the Philippines during his term as president. — With Raymond Africa, Ashzel Hachero and Reuters
