Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit the Philippines next week to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin Jr.
Pompeo will be in Manila for a two-day trip from February 28 to March 1, the U.S. Department of State said in a press release Friday.
Prior to that, he would be in Vietnam from February 26 to 20 for the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Responding to a netizen on Twitter on Saturday, Locsin said he “[does not] know yet” the agenda of Pompeo’s Manila visit. He was asked whether the South China Sea dispute or the review of the Mutual Defense Treaty would be discussed.
Locsin said, “[Pompeo] did tell me first time we talked not to turn our noses up at Chinese deals; just to read the fine print as we should in every agreement. Last time we did not read the fine print we fell into the worst debt trap of all: that laid by [New York banks/World Bank/International Monetary Fund].”
Don’t know yet. He did tell me first time we talked not to turn our noses up at Chinese deals; just to read the fine print as we should in every agreement. Last time we did not read the fine print we fell into the worst debt trap of all: that laid by NY banks/WB/IMF. https://t.co/NzDgwDrPJF
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) February 23, 2019
Manila and Beijing officials earlier assured that the Philippines will not fall into a debt trap despite billions of pesos in grants and investment pledges from China. This is amid concerns that China’s loans to poorer nations came with strings attached and could build up staggering debt.