'Secret agreement' with China 'horrifies' Marcos

President Marcos is seeking clarification from the Chinese government on the supposed gentleman's agreement on the West Philippine Sea entered into by Manila and Beijing during the Duterte administration, even as he warned such a deal could have "compromised" the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the country.

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Marcos said he would meet with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian upon his return from the US, where he is set to attend a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida this week.

The first-ever trilateral meeting among the US, Japan and the Philippines in Washington comes on the heels of heightened tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

"I am horrified by the idea that we have compromised... - through a secret agreement, the territory, the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Philippines. That is something - we still have to clear it up, we are waiting for Ambassador Huang to come back from Beijing... and I asked  to see him, maybe when I come back," the President said in an interview in San Juan City yesterday.

Marcos said he wants the Chinese envoy to clarify the alleged agreement and explain whether this was a formal or personal deal.