Duterte to tell Xi: Asean ‘worried’ on sea buildup

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday night vowed to raise with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping Beijing’s militarization of the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), saying leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) were “worried” about it.

Speaking to reporters in Vietnam, Duterte said it was about time to make Xi aware that Asean member-states were concerned over China’s deployment of weapons to its occupied islands in the contested waters, as shown in satellite photographs.