Philippines' Marcos sets off to meet Xi

STORY: Speaking ahead of his flight, Marcos said he looked forward to meeting President Xi Jinping and that "the issues between our two countries are problems that do not belong between two friends such as the Philippines and China".

This will be the second face-to-face meeting between Marcos and Xi after their November meeting in Thailand, and comes as the Philippines has raised concerns over reported Chinese construction activities and the "swarming" of Beijing's vessels in disputed waters of the South China Sea.