China seeks info on Chinese drug suspects in Philippines

President Rodrigo Duterte (left) talks with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua (right) during the 115th police service anniversary at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila on Aug. 17. AP

China’s ambassador to Manila says the Chinese government has sought information from Filipino authorities to help capture suspected Chinese drug traffickers in the Philippines and wants a stronger anti-drug accord to fight the menace.

Ambassador Zhao Jianhua said late Tuesday that China and the Philippines have swapped police visits recently for joint training and intelligence sharing in a sign of growing cooperation between the Asian countries in the fight against illegal drugs.

President Rodrigo Duterte has publicly said an unspecified number of Chinese nationals were involved in the illegal drug trade in the Philippines and that illegal drugs have been smuggled from China to the Philippines.

Duterte’s anti-drug crackdown has been the bloodiest and most massive in recent Philippine history and has left nearly 2,000 suspects dead so far.

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