China to build 2 rehab centers in Mindanao

China will help the Philippines build two drug rehabilitation centers in the southern island of Mindanao, a sign of its support to the drug campaign of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Jin Yuan, Chinese Business and Commercial Counselor to the Philippines, signed documents with Philippine authorities on Monday on the construction of two drug rehabilitation centers, the Economic and Commercial Counselor’s Office of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said on Monday.

“China’s support for Manila’s crackdown on drugs proves bilateral relations have recovered since Duterte’s visit to Beijing last October,” Wang Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

“Cooperation has been given more importance than their differences,” Wang noted, adding that both governments and peoples are seeking common interests.

The two 150- bed drug rehabilitation centers will be located in Agusan del Sur Province and Sarangani Province in Mindanao, the China News Services reported on Monday.

The centers come following the construction of a 10,000- bed rehabilitation center funded by Huang Rulun, an overseas Chinese tycoon in the Philippines, inside a military camp in Nueva Ecija, a province north of Manila, which was completed in November 2016, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

About 50 Philippine officials were trained in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province in October 2016 for 15 days on cracking down on drugs, the largest training session conducted by the Yunnan Police College since 2002, news portal yunnan. cn reported.

Meantime, Chinese research ships were allowed to enter the Philippine Benham Rise on Monday. Duterte was quoted by the AFP as saying, “They have no incursion because we have an agreement … It was a research ship.”

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang will pay an official visit to the Philippines from Thursday to Sunday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Tuesday.

During his visit, Wang will meet Duterte and hold talks with the economic leadership team of the country.