(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte had a bilateral meeting with People’s Republic of China President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC Summit at the Crowne Plaza Da Nang in Vietnam on November 11, 2017.
The 72-year old Duterte discussed the issue of the South China Sea, North Korea, as well as strengthening the friendship between China and the Philippines during their bilateral talks.
Joining the President were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, and Special Envoy to APEC Jose de Venecia, Jr.
The President also thanked the 64-year old Chinese leader for helping the Philippines when government forces were fighting IS-inspired terrorists in Marawi City.
“I see a very bright future for our relationship. Nothing to do with military. I have stated before and I was not lying, I would not entertain talks about military or anything except that I had to thank Mr. Xi Jinping for the timely and crucial help that he extended to our country when we were fighting the siege of Marawi,” he said.
-Dialogue on South China Sea Code of Conduct
Duterte said the issue on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea was also discussed. He noted that the Chinese President expressed willingness to hold a summit or a multilateral dialogue to tackle the matter.
“President Xi Jinping mentioned about a summit or a meeting, multilateral only to talk about the rules of conduct. It has nothing to do with sovereignty,” he said.
He added that China made the assurance that it would not impede the freedom of navigation in the disputed sea.
He likewise believed that the tensions in the South China Sea would not escalate into war saying that China also could not afford to put the lives of its people in danger.
“He knows that if he goes to war, everything will blow up. He acknowledged that war cannot be promoted by anybody, but it would only mean destruction for all of us,” he said.
“And I believe him because like me, he’s worried about the health and the problem of his countrymen,” he added.
-North Korea issue
The two leaders also discussed the North Korea issue. “At this time when everybody has in his pocket a large number of nuclear arms, China, America, Russia, Iran, North Korea, it is not a good time to talk about quarrel,” said the President.
Amid regional issues, Duterte said he assured President Xi that his friendship with him would remain “warm and robust.”
“I was also given again an invitation to go back to China whether as a friend, official, not official visits,” he shared.
“He said, ‘you can go to China if you want to observe anything and promote the same — the physical features of what you see now, pwede mong tignan, and you can go there as a tourist and we will guide you and show you the factories and all. And maybe you can learn something very useful for your country,” he said as he recalled his conversation with the Chinese leader.
In Vietnam, Duterte also had bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Tran Dai Quang of Viet Nam, the current host of APEC and a fellow member of ASEAN, and Prime Minister Peter O’Neill of Papua New Guinea, the incoming Chair of APEC next year.
(with a PND report)
