Duterte announces Malaysia trip, plans to raise piracy

Upon his arrival from a three-day official visit in Japan, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday announced that he would visit Malaysia to "complete his tour".

In a press conference in Davao City, Duterte said he would raise the issue of piracy in Kuala Lumpur.

"After this, I am going to talk to Malaysia. I am going there to complete the tour because those are the countries that really matter to me. Malaysia because of the Malacca Strait because we have this piracy going on every now and then. It puts to shame everybody," he said.

Earlier in October, Philippines struck a deal with Malaysia and Indonesia to have joint air patrols to address threats to maritime security in the region.

The three countries share maritime borders that have been under threat of Islamist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf. Duterte has previously visited Indonesia, where he discussed security issues with counterpart Joko Widodo.

He has also visited Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, China, and Japan in his first four months in office. He previously expressed intention to visit Russia to talk to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The dates of his trip to Malaysia are yet to be officially announced. --JST, GMA News