Marcos says he has no hotline to Xi amid sea tensions

MELBOURNE—President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has no direct line to Chinese President Xi Jinping more than a year after he proposed a hotline from one president to the other amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea.

In an interview on Australia's ABC, journalist Sarah Ferguson asked Marcos if he had direct contact with China which may help in resolving issues in the area.

“At several levels, at several levels. In fact, in January of last year, when I went to Beijing, and I visited with President Xi Jinping, that is what I proposed. A kind of hotline between us, so that if there is a message that needed to be sent from one president to another, we can be assured that that message will reach them,” Marcos said.

“And we have sort of established there are several, there are several points of contact at the ministerial level certainly and the sub ministerial level as well,” he added.

Asked if a personal line with Xi was established, Marcos said, “Not yet, I'm afraid.”

“At several levels, at several levels. In fact, in January of last year, when I went to Beijing, and I visited with President Xi Jinping, that is what I proposed. A kind of hotline between us, so that if there is a message that needed to be sent from one president to another, we can be assured that that message will reach them,” Marcos said.

“And we have sort of established there are several, there are several points of contact at the ministerial level certainly and the sub ministerial level as well,” he added.

Asked if a personal line with Xi was established, Marcos said, “Not yet, I'm afraid.”

Asked how urgent a priority is it to counter the fast-growing military power of China, Marcos said his government is focused on defending the country's sovereignty.

''Well, we don't see it in that sense. We don't see it as countering the military power of any country whatsoever. It's merely the defense of our territory,'' Marcos said.

''We have territorial conflicts with other countries, Malaysia for example and Vietnam but we've come to an arrangement with them to resolve any such conflicts peacefully,'' he added.

He reiterated that it has been his primordial duty to defend the country's sovereignty. 

Marcos said the Philippines would push back against China if it will ignore the country's sovereignty.—NB/RF, GMA Integrated News