Locsin and 3 Other ASEAN Foreign Ministers to Visit China, Says China’s Foreign Ministry

MANILA – The Philippine diplomatic chief and 3 other Southeast Asian foreign ministers will visit China from March 31 to April 2, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Locsin’s trip comes amid the continued presence of Chinese vessels on the Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone in the Western Philippine Sea.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, during her regular press conference on Tuesday, said Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, and Locsin will visit China at the invitation of China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister. Wang Yi.

Locsin has yet to confirm the development.

Hua said the visit is expected to strengthen ties between China and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN relations.

The Philippines has protested the presence of around 200 Chinese vessels at Julian Felipe Reef (Whitsun Reef) since March 7 and demanded that China remove them.

Retired Philippine Supreme Court Deputy Justice Antonio Carpio warned that it could lead to the occupation and construction of a naval base on the reef as China did at Mischief Reef in 1995.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila denied allegations that the boats are part of the Beijing militia and described them as fishing boats taking shelter due to “rough sea conditions”. He also insisted that the reef is part of his territory.

The United States, Japan, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom have raised concerns about the Chinese incursion into the Western Philippine Sea.

China’s extensive claims in the South China Sea, of which the Western Philippine Sea is part, had been invalidated by a United Nations-backed arbitration tribunal in 2016.

China has been criticized for aggressively asserting its claims on waterways rich in marine resources and energy, and for militarizing features there.

China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei claim parts of the South China Sea.

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