MANILA: Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Tuesday (Jul 5) said he desired ties with Beijing to be about greater than a South China Ocean dispute, and pressured the need for multilateral engagement in dealing with conflicts.
“We have our relationship not only on one dimension, inch Marcos told a news conference ahead of a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, part of his tour of Southeast Asia.
Marcos said he would try to “find ways to work to resolve the issues that we have”, therefore ties could normalise after years or maritime disputes, along with room for relationships to expand in order to new areas, which includes military exchanges.
Marcos has a challenging balancing act within boosting business ties with China while maintaining close relationships with defence ally the United States, a former colonial power that still holds sway within the Philippines.
The newest Philippine leader offers expressed intent to increase ties with The far east but has also vowed to stand firm against any risk it poses to Philippine sovereign interests.
During his election campaign, Marcos said he would go after a bilateral method of China, echoing Beijing’s position on handling the South Tiongkok Sea issue.
On Tuesday, he mentioned the need for multilateral engagement, including for your Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) bloc to be active for its member nations.
He furthermore said Asia-Pacific commanders were “important stars in the regional geopolitics… because they are stakeholders in this”.
Reading more on: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/philippines-marcos-says-china-ties-are-about-more-conflict-2790646