Marcos sees China as important neighbor
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said China is an important “neighbor” of the Philippines despite the unresolved issues between the two nations in the West Philippine Sea.
“Even though they are not part of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), we treat China as an important neighbor in Asia,” Marcos said in his latest vlog released on Saturday night.
In the vlog, which was shot during his state visit to China earlier this year, Marcos recalled his trip to China in 1974 with his mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, which he described as the start of the friendship between the Philippines and China.
“When we went here in 1974, we know that it was a very important visit as this was the first official visit to mainland China,” he said.
“We did not know what to expect because no news is coming from China as it was still closed at that time,” he added.
Forty-five years after his first step in what is now regarded as one of the superpower countries, Marcos said it is now his responsibility to continue promoting good ties between the two countries.
“It is almost 50 years since China opened its door for friendship with the Philippines. I was a part of that historic event. Together with my mother, we started our friendship in various fields — from trade, culture, tourism and many others,” he said.
“Now that I was destined to be the president for the next six years, it’s an honor and a responsibility for me to continue the good relations that we started almost 50 years ago,” he added.
The bilateral meeting between Marcos and his counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping was also featured in the vlog.
According to the president, the Philippines and China signed a total of 14 memoranda of agreements, which he said aim to provide more revenues, and jobs for the country.
“These are agreements that will help us achieve our goals in the coming years,” the president said.
“Our good relations with China will even go a long way, especially now that we are recovering altogether from the effects of the pandemic,” he added.
Marcos said the country’s post-pandemic recovery planswill only be successful through interactions with other countries.
“I am now announcing to all that the Philippines is now open and ready to accept tourists,” he said.
‘Chinese tourists’
Marcos said more than 1.7 million Chinese tourists visited the Philippines in 2019, which was accredited for $2 billion in tourism spending.
He noted that several industries such as hotel and service industries, and small, and medium-scale enterprises benefitted from this market.
The president vowed to continue to take care of the bilateral ties between the Philippines and China for the benefit of the Filipinos.
“We will continue to take care of the Philippine-China relations more than we did in the past decades for the interest of the country, and for the benefit of the Philippines,” he said.
“This is our only guidance and foundation in our foreign relations with other countries and not just China,” he added.