Duterte to discuss terrorism, drugs with China's Xi in next meeting

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is set to hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart as he heads for his third visit to China next week.

Duterte would be attending the 2018 Boao Forum for Asia in China's southern Hainan province, along with other world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At the sidelines of the international forum, the two leaders would meet to discuss ways to further enhance the Philippines-China bilateral relationship.

"The two leaders will also discuss ways to collaborate on jointly addressing pressing issues, as well as common threats, such as violent extremism, terrorism and cross-border traffic of illegal narcotics," DFA Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee said in a Malacañang briefing.

South China Sea

The upcoming bilateral meeting between Duterte and Xi would serve as an opportunity for the two leaders to further discuss collaboration and cooperation between the two countries as a follow up to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano's Beijing trip last month.

Beijing has vowed to "prudently advance" cooperation with Manila on possible joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea after Cayetano's meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

According to Teehankee, any discussions on a possible joint development in the disputed waterway would benefit both the Philippines and China.

"We can expect that pursuant to the follow-up from the March meeting that any joint exploration will be based on prudent principles that will be beneficial to the Philippines and China and to the Asia Pacific region in general," Teehankee said.

"I think the president has been very clear that he maintains the Philippine position and the meetings are based on mutual respect and equality among nations," he added.

Boao Forum for Asia

Duterte would deliver a speech before other heads of state, business elites, academic experts and media personalities during the BFA plenary on April 10.

"Addressing the BFA plenary is a singular privilege for the Philippines and a privilege for acknowledging the president’s role and leadership in Asia and the ASEAN region," Teehankee said.

The BFA is an international dialogue platform for Asia Pacific countries and other nations to discuss cooperation, innovations and solutions toward a prosperous region.

Duterte sees the forum as "parallel and complementary" to his vision of a developed Philippines and a more prosperous Filipino nation, the DFA official said.

"(Duterte) looks forward to engaging his counterparts to create positive outcomes that will benefit Filipino people in particular and Asia Pacific in general," Teehankee said.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen, Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde are also expected to attend the forum.