Common ground: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte unites predecessors to discuss South China Sea dispute
Philippines has adopted a more moderate stance on China under Duterte, who has courted closer economic and political ties with Beijing
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday gathered four past presidents, most of whom have been politically at odds with one another, to discuss a unifying concern: their country’s territorial disputes with China.
Duterte convened the National Security Council mainly to discuss his government’s strategy in negotiating with China a resolution to the long-running South China Sea conflict, officials said.
Four ex-presidents attended the meeting at the Malacanang presidential palace: Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Duterte’s predecessor, Benigno Aquino, in the most incumbent and former Filipino leaders to gather in one meeting in the Philippine republic’s history.
Inviting former presidents to the council’s meetings is traditional but the gathering was a rare show of unity among them.
Arroyo helped oust Estrada in 2001, causing his downfall and eventual conviction on a plunder charge, but she granted him a pardon that allowed him to run again for public office. He’s now the mayor of Manila city.