Locsin, Chinese FM to sign bilateral deals

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Saturday said he was looking forward to welcoming Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when he arrives in President Rodrigo Duterte’s hometown of Davao City today, Sunday, to sign bilateral documents regarding the government’s infrastructure, law enforcement and humanitarian assistance programs.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wang would meet with Duterte’s economic managers regarding the government’s massive infrastructure program at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao on Monday.

After the meetings, bilateral documents will then be signed by Wang, Locsin and Duterte’s economic managers.

Wang’s visit comes amid negotiations for a proposed energy exploragathered tion deal between the two countries in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), which was the initial agenda on the scheduled visit last September 16 to 18.

The visit was cancelled due to the onslaught of Typhoon “Ompong.”

The DFA, however, did not say if the proposed joint exploration deal would be included in the bilateral documents.

Former foreign secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, who resigned to run for a House seat, previously said government was seeking to have the framework agreement, which would allow the two countries to undertake energy exploration, signed this year.

“The two sides are also expected to continue discussions on oil and gas cooperation, with the view of coming up with a framework of cooperation that conforms to respective rules and regulations and international laws,” the DFA previously said.

Cayetano had assured the public that any planned energy exploration deal with rival claimant China would not violate any provisions of the Philippines’ 1987 Constitution and international laws.

Wang’s visit will also be an opportunity for the two governments to prepare for the Philippine visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.