Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers a speech during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2024. —File photo from Agence France-Presse
MANILA, Philippines — Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Republic of China are expected to discuss issues on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) in the 44th and 45th Asean Summits in Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, next week.
In a press briefing on Friday, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel Espiritu said Asean leaders and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang were scheduled to attend the Asean-China Summit set for October 10.
Li will attend on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping, he said.
READ: West Philippine Sea: Beijing, Manila agree to continue talks
Asked whether the WPS issue would be brought up at the summit, Espiritu said: “Of course, definitely. The president always sanctions that issue in all of the summits from the very start.”
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“Of course, the recent developments, but I won’t go into the details of that,” he replied when asked what specific issue would be discussed.
Asean Summits from October 8 to 11.
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Espiritu said the president would also meet the 400-member Filipino community in Lao before his formal engagement starts.
In a statement last September 12, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the Philippines and China had agreed to continue discussions on areas of cooperation concerning the WPS.
It said that Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro exchanged views with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong on managing the situation in the WPS, including the Escoda Shoal.
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