MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo R. Duterte is set to meet United States Secretary of State John Kerry later this month to strengthen their countries’ ties anew.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that the President, US Secretary Kerry and Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., will meet on July 26 to 27 in the country’s capital.
US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner said they would discuss the “full range of our cooperation with the new administration.”
During Kerry’s visit from July 26 to 27, he is also expected to meet with Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay.
The call comes a few weeks after The Hague-based arbitral tribunal handed down a ruling favorable to the Philippines on its claims over parts of the South China Sea against China.
Before his visit to the country, Secretary Kerry will participate in the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia summit foreign ministers meeting, the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial meeting, and the lower Mekong initiative ministerial meeting at Vientiane, Laos.
He will be discussing the region’s security architecture and shared transnational challenges including maritime security, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea.