PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will not have the chance to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and take up with him the South China Sea issue at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits here.
Marcos, who said he would mention about the disputed water if he would sit down with Xi, will miss seeing the Chinese leader as it is only China's Premier Li Keqiang who participated at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits.
"We have no scheduled bilateral meeting with China during the ASEAN Summits," Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Affairs Neal Imperial told reporters here on Wednesday.
"The announcement will be announced once it is finalized," he added.
On Thursday, Marcos already sat down with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. He is set to meet with South Korean, Brunei, Canadian and French leaders in the remaining days of the summits before leaving for Manila on Sunday.
With Vietnam, the Philippines agreed to boost ties on defense and maritime security, agriculture and trade; while with Cambodia, the country wanted to strengthen cooperation on agriculture, low-cost housing and digitalization.