Malacañang said issues on the West Philippine Sea were among those discussed during a meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte raised the issue before Xi at the sidelines of the 2019 Belt and Road forum on Thursday in Beijing. “Both agreed the situation can be managed by mechanism of bilateral negotiations but it should not affect the cooperation by both Philippines and China and they look forward to a productive discussion on matters of mutual concern and interests,” Panelo said.

Co, A. S. (2019, April 27). Duterte and Xi discuss West PH Sea issue. Panay News, p. 8.