Duterte arrives in China for four-day state visit

BEIJING—President Rodrigo Duterte has arrived in Beijing for a four-day state visit here as his administration moves to have closer ties with China after declaring his intention to push for an independent foreign policy.

Duterte's plane touched touched down at the airport at 8:07 p.m. straight from his three-day state visit in Brunei.

The President over the weekend said that he would raise a controversial arbitral ruling on the South China Sea with China's leaders and vowed not to surrender any sovereignty or deviate from the July award by the tribunal in the Hague.

The tribunal's ruling dealt a blow to China's extensive claims in the South China Sea.

Beijing has refused to recognise the case and has chided any country telling it to abide by the ruling.

In the Xinhua interview published on Monday, Duterte said he wanted negotiation, not confrontation, over the South China Sea.

"There is no sense in going to war. There is no sense fighting over a body of water," Duterte said.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., however, said Duterte would not have substantial discussions on the South China Sea dispute with Chinese leaders.

"We're not afraid to negotiate with China when the opportunity to negotiate is there. We're also not afraid to tell China that we are in no position to derogate our rights under international laws... We say this very openly and China recognizes this," Yasay said in a news briefing in Brunei.

"What we're saying is right now, it is not the time to discuss substantively resolving this issue. We still have to build on the loss trust that was weakened or eroded during the past administration," he added.

Duterte, who came from a state visit in Bruneu, is scheduled to meet with the Filipino community in Beijing on Wednesday night.

Duterte is expected to meet top Chinese leaders—President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and National People’s Congress Chairman Zhang Dejiang—on Thursday.

He would then have a keynote speech at the Philippine-China Trade and Investment event.

On Friday, Duterte would meet with executives from the Bank of China before flying back home to Davao City.

Reuters reported that Chinese officials  were upbeat about Duterte's state visit.

"This will be a historic visit and a new beginning in China-Philippines relations," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

China's ambassador to Manila, Zhao Jianhua, said last Friday a budding bilateral friendship could boost chances of removing one of their biggest bones of contention in the South China Sea.

Philippine Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio, however, warned that Duterte could be impeached if he gives up the country's sovereignty over the Scarborough, according to Philippine media.

China's objective is to jointly develop resources in the South China Sea with its neighbours, said Lu Xiang, an international relations expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think-tank.

"Disputes with any neighbor are not conducive for China," he said, when asked what China wanted in exchange for any concession to Duterte.

"We need a better external environment," Lu said. —NB, GMA News