Update

President Rodrigo Duterte talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone on Wednesday to thank Beijing for inviting him to tour China’s flagship destroyer, Malacañang said.

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Malacañang released photos of Duterte having a phone call with Xi. Beside Duterte was Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go.

The Palace said it was Xi who phoned Duterte.

“The Philippine President, among other things, thanked the Government of China for inviting him to tour the People’s Liberation Army Navy Flagship Destroyer ‘Chang Chun’ which was docked at the Sasa Port in Davao City early this week for a goodwill visit to the Philippines,” Malacañang said.

A Palace source said the conversation happened at around 4 p.m. and lasted for 26 minutes.

In a separate statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the two leaders “exchanged views about regional developments and how some concerns can be addressed.”

“For his part, President Duterte shared Philippine positions on several salient issues, especially on developments in the Korean Peninsula, and he referred to China’s important role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula,” DFA said.

Duterte’s conversation with Xi came days after the closing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Manila.

“In his capacity as Chair of ASEAN, the President spoke about how to further strengthen ties with ASEAN’s dialogue partners and shared the outcomes of the recently concluded successful ASEAN Summit,” DFA said.

“He also mentioned that as the Chair of ASEAN, ASEAN discussed and agreed on measures to promote Asean unity, centrality and solidarity as well as Asean commitment to continue promoting peace and stability in the Asia Pacific region,” it added.

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Duterte is set to visit China on May 14 to 16 to attend the “One Belt, One Road Forum” in Beijing. The President first visited China as a chief executive during a state visit on October 2016.

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