Career diplomat is new foreign minister of the Philippines

Manila, July 1 (EFE).- President Marcos Jr Friday appointed career diplomat Enrique Manalo the new foreign minister of the Philippines.

Manalo, 69, comes with decades of experience in diplomacy.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte appointed him as the Philippines ambassador to the United Nations in 2017 before serving as the deputy foreign minister from April 2016.

Manalo was also the Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Luxembourg with previous administrations. He also led the Philippines’ diplomatic mission to the European Union.

Manalo replaces Teodoro Locsin Jr.

In light of the dispute between Beijing and Manila over the sovereignty of islets in the South China Sea, Marcos Jr., who was inaugurated as president of the Philippines on Thursday, appointed a seasoned diplomat to handle diplomatic ties with China.

Last month, Marcos Jr. made it clear that he will stand up for the Philippines’ territorial integrity and the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague (PCA), which found China’s claim to the disputed islands “had no legal basis.” EFE

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