PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. is hoping to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discuss with him the issue of the territorial row in the West Philippine Sea in the South China Sea.
Marcos is in Cambodia for the attend 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits which Xi is expected to attend.
The President, in an interview with reporters on the presidential flight en route to Phnom Phen for the ASEAN Summit, said “those kinds of discussions especially with the West Philippine Sea, I’m hoping to do that with the Chinese President.”
“So hopefully… iyun ang magiging isang (that will be the) subject matter na pag-usapan namin (of our talks)… It’s impossible for me to talk to China without mentioning that,” he said.
It was not clear if Marcos will have a meeting with Xi on the sidelines of summits.
Marcos said he also intends to raise the issue of the West Philippine Sea in the ASEAN in the hope of finding a way to finally resolve the maritime territorial issue.
The President said while there were efforts to come up with a Code of Conduct between the ASEAN and China, it has been “asleep” and “not really moving forward.”
Marcos said there is a need for ASEAN to find an “area of consensus” on the issue. He said a new code of conduct may be needed to reflect recent developments concerning the disputed area.
China is claiming most of the South China Sea which is being claimed in part also by the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said Marcos is expected to meet with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the summit while the President said he expects to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Yesterday, Marcos met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Cambodia.
