“Even one square of real estate” in the Philippines wasn’t put at stake when it received financial assistance from China, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday.
At the groundbreaking ceremony for the Binondo-Intramuros bridge that is set to be built by the Chinese government, the president in a speech said that China has never asked anything in exchange when extending assistance to the country.
Mentioning his visits to China, Duterte said he had the honor to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, stressing the time they engaged in a dialogue where they tackled the two countries’ “friendships and cooperation.”
Duterte also talked about the landmark ruling in 2016 that granted Philippines rights over the West Philippine Sea, a subject that both he and Xi agreed to discuss at some other time, as “China has to deal with individually bilateral relations and issues.”
The Philippine government is giving China “sufficient period to sort out things,” the chief executive said, assuring that “in the end, China will be fair and the equity will be distributed.”
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 07/ 18 /18)