Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Photo from a Twitter post by Hua Chunying)
MANILA, Philippines — In their meeting in Beijing last month, former President Rodrigo Duterte asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to “look kindly to the Philippines.”
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos himself mentioned this to senators when they met over dinner on Wednesday, according to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Straight from his meeting with Duterte in Malacanang, Marcos went directly to join his former colleagues in the Senate, where he shared details about his meeting with the former leader.
“What he mentioned to us was during the duration of President Duterte’s meeting with Xi Jinping, the topic of the West Philippine Sea never was brought up,” Zubiri said when interviewed over CNN Philippines on Thursday.
“It was actually President Duterte who mentioned to Xi Jinping that on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, look kindly look kindly to the Philippines…So it was actually the former president who shared his thoughts that China should look kindly to their neighbor in the south of the Philippines,” he said.
Zubiri said Marcos did not say whether Xi responded to Duterte.
Calls have been made urging Duterte to disclose his meeting with the Chinese leader.
But it was only Wednesday night when Duterte met with Marcos to discuss his meeting with the Chinese leader.
In a previous statement, however, the Chinese embassy in Manila said Xi expressed his appreciation to Duterte for his “strategic choice” during his time to improve the relations between the two countries.
“China values its relations with the Philippines and is ready to work with the Philippines to promote the steady and sustained growth of bilateral relations,” the embassy’s spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as saying.