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No surprise in Duterte’s lack of S. China Sea mention to Xi: analyst

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ABS-CBN News

The lack of mention of the maritime dispute between the Philippines and China during the meeting of its top leaders Tuesday was expected given the Duterte administration&#x27;s stance on the issue, an analyst said Tuesday.Discussing the issues hounding the South China Sea dispute would be &quot;very problematic&quot; and may be &quot;offensive&quot; to Chinese President Xi Jinping, said Jay Batongbacal, director of the University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.&quot;I fully expected that. After all, the position taken by the Duterte administration since the beginning is to no longer discuss or at least publicly discuss contentious issues,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s &quot;Beyond Politics&quot; Tuesday.Batongbacal added that diplomacy dictates that contentious issues be discussed in private instead or by ministers of the involved countries.While it is expected that the two leaders refrain from publicly discussing the maritime dispute, Batongbacal said it would be a &quot;show of good faith on China&#x27;s part&quot; if it could give updates on Manila&#x27;s protests on the alleged harassment of Filipino fishermen by the Chinese.Xi is in Manila until Wednesday, November 21, for a state visit, the first of a Chinese leader in 13 years.His arrival comes more than two years since a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal handed a decision invalidating China&#x27;s expansive claim to the South China Sea, a legal victory that the Philippines has shelved. Beijing has continued to ignore the ruling as Duterte courts trade and investment opportunities from the economic superpower.

Discussing the issues hounding the South China Sea dispute would be "very problematic" and may be "offensive" to Xi Jinping, an analyst says.

Discussing the issues hounding the South China Sea dispute would be "very problematic" and may be "offensive" to Xi Jinping, an analyst says.