President Marcos said he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Summit to discuss what can be done to reduce tensions in the disputed portions of the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Marcos said this after United States Vice President Kamala Harris expressed interest in the situation in the disputed waters during their meeting on Thursday, Nov. 16 (Manila time).

In an interview in San Francisco, the President said he would get Xi's view of the ongoing tension and discuss what can be done "to bring down the temperature, to not escalate the situation in the West Philippine Sea."

"And we will put all of these together so as we'll be able to strategize for the near future on what the Philippines' role will be or what is the proper Philippines' role in the West Philippine Sea," he said on Friday, Nov. 17 (Manila time).

There were recent tensions between the Philippine and Chinese coast guards in the West Philippine Sea, which included the Chinese ships ramming and firing water cannons on Philippine vessels on a resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal, located within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has said that regular resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal are legitimate activities and will not give prior notification to China.

US Vice President Harris discussed the issue with President Marcos during their meeting on Thursday and asked for the Philippines' assessment of the situation in the West Philippines Sea (WPS), as the country is exerting all efforts to maintain peace in the region.

"She was very interested to know what our assessment was on the situation in the West Philippines Sea, and I just went through the narrative of … what had happened in the past few months," Marcos said.

"We tried to discuss some of the ways forward, and I think that generally speaking, especially after my meeting with President Xi, which I'm going to have some time today. After that, we will put together the ways forward," he added.

According to Marcos, the Philippines tries to maintain peace in the region with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine military, and the entire government.

During their meeting, which was the fifth one between them, Marcos and Harris reaffirmed their countries' ties and reiterated their shared commitment to uphold international rules and norms, including in the South China Sea.