Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday he was convinced that his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, had entered into a questionable “secret agreement” with Beijing on the South China Sea, while maintaining there was no record of its existence.
Duterte’s former spokesman, Harry Roque, has said that the previous Philippine administration struck a deal with China to keep the “status quo” in the disputed waterway. It allegedly included a pledge by Manila not to repair the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era ship that was run aground to serve as the Philippines’ military…
