President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Thursday that his upcoming discussions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will delve on “maintaining peace in the South China Sea”.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier confirmed that Secretary Blinken will meet with President Marcos on March 19.

“With an eye not to winning any kind of conflict but really just to maintain the peace and to continue to defend the sovereignty and the sovereign rights of the Philippines, when it comes to these international differences [that] we are having to deal with right now,” President Marcos said in a joint press conference with Czech Republic President Petr Pavel.

Marcos said discussing the South China Sea issue with Blinken is necessary in matters concerning international trade.

“It is an issue that is not only important for those surrounded the region, the Indo-Pacific region, for ASEAN, and for the members states of ASEAN that surround the South China Sea,” he said.

“But also, because this is a safe navigation and passage of the South China Sea is important to international trade, as close to 60% of international trade goes to that channel and we hope to continue these discussions,” he added.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea and has sought to assert sovereignty there despite competing claims from Southeast Asian nations and an international arbitration ruling that its stance has no legal basis.

Tensions between Beijing and the Philippines have flared in recent months as ships from both countries have clashed near contested reefs, with the most recent dispute taking place this week.

With Agence France-Presse