MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday he plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss various issues including immigration, in an effort to influence policy he said could impact a large number of Filipinos in the United States.
“We will see how we can influence policymaking in terms of immigration,” Marcos said without saying when that meeting would take place.
Speaking to reporters on various topics, Marcos also said he would return a Typhon missile system to the United States if China ceased what he said was aggressive and coercive behavior and its claiming of territory in the South China Sea.
China has strongly opposed the U.S. deployment of the missile system for exercises in the Philippines, a defence ally of Washington, and has repeatedly called for its withdrawal.
“I don’t understand the comments on the Typhon missile system. We don’t make any comments on their missile systems and their missile systems are a thousand times more powerful than what we have,” Marcos said.
“Let’s make a deal with China: stop claiming our territory, stop harassing our fishermen and let them have a living, stop ramming our boats, stop water cannoning our people, stop firing lasers at us and stop your aggressive and coercive behaviour and I’ll return the Typhon missiles,” he said.
Beijing, which claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, has repeatedly accused Philippine vessels of encroachment on its territory. Bilateral ties are at their worst in years after repeated confrontations and heated diplomatic rows.
The Chinese embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the president’s remarks.
The Typhon missile system was deployed by U.S. forces to the Philippines in April last year as part of their Balikatan or “shoulder-to-shoulder” military exercises, and has since stayed in the country.
Reuters reported last week the launchers were redeployed to a new location in the Philippines, which officials decline to disclose.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Mikhail Flores; Editing by Martin Petty)
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