Heydarian's take on upcoming Duterte-Xi meeting this month

President Rodrigo Duterte has announced his plan of raising the arbitral ruling on his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this month, according to GMA resident political analyst Richard Heydarian on Wednesday.

Heydarian added that Duterte may have been pressured to set the meeting because of the critical stance of his defense officials on the issue.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana recently said that China's move to take over Scarborough Shoal can be considered a form of bullying.

National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. also said that China's "defensive" position in the South China Sea may turn into an offensive one.

During an interview on GMA News TV's Balitanghali, Heydarian said that talking to Chinese leaders alone regarding the territorial dispute will not do much, given that Duterte himself revealed Xi's unfavorable response on his previous assertion of the Philippines' rights to drill oil in a disputed part of South China Sea.

Further, Heydarian underscored that putting a multilateral diplomatic pressure against China is more likely to result in significant developments.

Watch the video for the full discussion.

— BAP, GMA News