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MANILA, Philippines – Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe will visit the Philippines as part of his tour of selected countries in Southeast Asia, where hostility towards Chinese aggression in the South China Sea is growing.
Three security agents, who were not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed to Inquirer.net that Wei will meet with his Philippine counterpart, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, on Friday (September 11) at Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Details of Wei’s visit to Manila were unclear and Lorenzana did not respond to inquiries as of Thursday evening.
South China Morning Post reported that Wei would visit Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei before flying to the Philippines.
Wei’s visit comes amid continued Chinese aggression in the Western Philippine Sea and renewed security concerns in the Philippines over Chinese investments.
Last month, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China after the Chinese Coast Guard seized fishing devices from Filipino fishermen at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, which is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The Philippines also protested the “continuing illegal broadcasts of China’s radio challenges against Filipino aircraft conducting legitimate regular maritime patrols in the Western Philippine Sea.”
Beijing continued to assert its expansive claims in the South China Sea amid global anxiety over the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in China.
Chinese investments in the Philippines have also come under renewed scrutiny recently after the United States imposed sanctions on Chinese companies involved in building artificial islands in the South China Sea, which had been turned into Chinese military installations.
President Rodrigo Duterte last week gave the signal for Chinese companies included on the US blacklist to participate in the country’s infrastructure programs.
However, this raised new security concerns in projects such as the China-backed Sangley Point International Airport (SPIA), which will displace the Philippine Navy and could make Manila vulnerable.
Earlier this week, Lorenzana announced that it had signed the agreement with China-linked Dito Telecommunity that would allow the telecommunications company to install cell phone towers in military camps, raising national security concerns.
Wei’s visit also comes amid the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is held online due to the pandemic. The online meeting of top Southeast Asian diplomats started on Wednesday (September 9) and will run until Saturday (September 12).
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will participate in the summit, the first since the United States announced sanctions on Chinese companies involved in China’s construction frenzy in the China Sea. Southern.
Rising tensions in the South China Sea and growing rivalry between the United States and China were expected to top the Asean summit agenda. COVID-19, which has devastated the region’s economy, was also expected to be on the summit’s agenda.
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