As Tensions Between China and the Philippines Surge, Wang Yi Calls on a Few Old Friends in Southeast Asia

Chinese Foreign Minister met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (top), Sinaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong (middle) and Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim during a three-nation SE Asian tour. Images via AFP.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a quick sprint through Southeast Asia over the weekend as part of a three-nation tour of Malaysia, Singapore, and Cambodia. 

Wang met with the prime ministers in the three countries in what appeared to be an effort to bolster ties with Beijing’s friends in the region amid rapidly escalating tensions with the Philippines over territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

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