The Philippine President received a birthday present from the Chinese Ambassador.
Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua brought Philippine President Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Roa Duterte a present for his 72nd birthday.
The Philippine President celebrates today his 72nd birthday. Based on a recent news report in Rappler, the ambassador of China has already given Pres. Duterte a birthday present.
According to the news report, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua met with the Philippine leader yesterday and he brought with him a large painting of Pres. Duterte with Honeylet Avanceña, the common-law wife of the President, and Veronica, their daughter.
During the meeting of the Pres. Duterte and the ambassador of China, security issues were tackled. According to the Palace, they talked about how to properly handle the territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
Based on the news report, the Chinese ambassador expressed praises on the coordination between the coast guards of Beijing and the coast guards of Manila.
Zhao did not only gave the Philippine President a portrait as a birthday present, he also handed him a formal invitation for Pres. Duterte to visit China again.
As Zhao praised the coordination between Manila and Beijing’s coast guards, the United States Ambassador Sung Kim expressed praises on the coordination between the intelligence agencies of Philippines and U.S. according to the report.
The U.S. Ambassador also met with the Philippine President a day before his 72nd birthday. The Palace said that the meeting mostly revolved around security concerns.
Based on the report, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement that the U.S. Ambassador assured Pres. Duterte that their country “is ready to provide more military equipment, assistance, and training.”
The ties of the Philippines with the United States and with China “remain strong” as Pres. Duterte assures according to the Palace.
The relationship of the Philippines and China was challenged by the territorial dispute between the two nations over the West Philippine Sea.
When Pres. Duterte assumed office, he made an official visit to China and it has undeniably bring some ease to the situation. He has brought home lots of investment projects for the country and the Filipino fisherfolks were then allowed to fish on the disputed shoal.
The Philippine President has always been vocal that he cannot match the might of China and the country is in no position to declare a war.
Based on a previous news report, he expressed that someday he will have to confront China and that would possibly be when they start to extract resources from the disputed areas.
