Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang arrived in Manila on Friday to try to boost ties with the Philippines, which is staging the largest ever Balikatan military exercises with the United States.
Philippine officials said Qin is set to meet President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday after an initial meeting with his Philippine counterpart Enrique Manalo.
Marcos has sought to strengthen ties with Washington after his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, trashed the alliance and shifted towards Beijing for economic deals and infrastructure projects. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday Qin's visit is aimed at "enhancing mutual trust" and "properly handling differences" with the Philippines.
Beijing claims almost the entire waterway, deploying hundreds of vessels there to patrol the waters and occupy reefs.Philippine foreign affairs analyst Richard Heydarian said Qin's visit is "timely and extremely important" given the current state of relations between the two nations.
Marcos has also allowed the United States to rotate its troops around four additional sites under a 2014 deal that originally identified five locations.
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