South China Sea: Xi Jinping calls on ex-Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte to continue boosting ties
- Chinese president receives former leader in Beijing, telling him ‘I hope you will continue to play an important role in the friendly cooperation’
- Philippine media reports the purpose of Duterte’s visit was not apparent to Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs
During his presidency, which ended last year, Duterte “resolutely made the strategic choice of improving relations with China, with an attitude of being responsible to the people and history” and had put bilateral relations “back on the right track” to prosper, Xi said on Monday.
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“The development of the two countries is rooted in the good-neighbourly and friendly peripheral environment and the Asian family of win-win cooperation,” Xi told Duterte. “I hope you will continue to play an important role in the friendly cooperation between the two countries.”
The Philippines and several other countries have long-standing claims that rival Beijing’s in the region.
In late June, the Philippine navy deployed for the first time its anti-submarine warfare assets to the West Philippine Sea – known in China as the eastern parts of the South China Sea – to boost the force’s capability to detect and hit enemy vessels.