China expected to seek meeting with PBBM after US trip: UP prof

From the Philippine News Agency (May 6, 2023): China expected to seek meeting with PBBM after US trip: UP prof (By Ferdinand Patinio)

INSIGHTS. Government officials (from left) Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary Dominic Tolentino, Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla, and De La Salle University Professor Renato Cruz de Castro are joined by University of the Philippines Professor Chester Cabalza, during the Dapo forum in Quezon City on Saturday (May 6, 2023). They shared their insights on the recent bilateral engagements entered into by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. with US President Joe Biden. (PNA photo by Robert Oswald P. Alfiler)

MANILA – A meeting with the Chinese government should be expected after the visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to the United States to discuss the relationship between the two nations, a University of the Philippines professor said on Saturday.

“We know that after our president returns home from the US, United Kingdom, and Indonesia, because of the ASEAN summit, China will also talk to Malacañang to discuss their relationship with us,” Dr. Chester Cabalza said at the Saturday News Forum.

“I’m sure that China is planning something for us because we know that the competition between the US and China is strong,” he said.

Asked if the meeting with the US government would reduce the aggressiveness of China at the Ayungin Shoal, Cabalza said, “That's what we'll be waiting (for) from China. They always offered us the lines of communication from them, that proposal came from the coast guard diplomacy since 2017.”

“That action should come from China because we are doing our best to have a good relationship with China,” he added.

Marcos has just winded up his visit to the US. He is currently in the United Kingdom for the coronation of King Charles III and will be flying to Indonesia for the 42nd ASEAN Summit before heading back to the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1200908