BUSAN, South Korea — Even as the West Philippine Sea simmers, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is reaching across the water with an olive branch to Chinese President Xi Jinping, inviting him to Manila for a heart-to-heart that could cool things down.
“I told President Xi—come visit us in the Philippines,” Marcos shared with reporters after a quick pull-aside chat on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. “Not just for the view, but so we can sit down, face to face, and really talk through our differences.”
The gesture comes at a tense moment: fresh ICJ moves, gray-zone patrols, and fishing boats caught in the crossfire. But Marcos insists dialogue—not distance—is the way forward. “We’ve got a long history as neighbors. Neighbors talk. Even when it’s tough.”
Xi reportedly welcomed the idea, though no dates are set. For Filipino fishers in Scarborough Shoal and diplomats tracking every buoy, the invitation feels like a quiet hope: maybe words can do what water cannons can’t.