China’s foreign minister heads to Manila amid ‘big ups and downs’ in relations
- Qin Gang expected to discuss cooperation on agriculture, trade, energy and infrastructure with his Philippine counterpart
- Security issues including the South China Sea and Taiwan are also likely to be high on Qin’s agenda, according to observers
It will be Qin’s first visit to the Southeast Asian nation since he took office at the end of last year. He will also be the highest-level Chinese official to visit the Philippines since President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s trip to Beijing in January, when the two sides pledged to strengthen strategic cooperation and manage their South China Sea dispute.
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“There have been some big ups and downs in relations between China and the Philippines since the beginning of the year, and competition between China and the US is getting intense with no signs of easing,” said Chen Xiangmiao, an assistant research fellow with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan.
“These are all part of the considerations behind this trip.”
Qin will meet his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo during the three-day visit and they are expected to discuss “increasing and strengthening cooperation in the fields of agriculture, trade, energy, infrastructure and people-to-people relations, among others”, according to a Philippine foreign ministry statement.
Observers say security issues including the South China Sea and Taiwan are likely to be high on Qin’s agenda during talks with Philippine officials.
Tensions flared in the South China Sea in mid-February when Manila accused a Chinese coastguard vessel of aiming lasers at one of its ships and disrupting a supply mission in the contested Spratly Islands.
