State visit to China a test of Philippine President’s diplomatic acumen

Marcos Jr will have a long economic wish list for China, in balance with its defence links with the US. - AFP

BEIJING, Dec 17 (The Straits Times/ANN): Days before embarking on his landmark trip to China in 1975, then Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Sr convened a Cabinet meeting, during which he lifted briefing papers more than an inch thick to see how heavy they were.

After setting them aside, as a retired diplomat recalled, the President asked out of the blue: Is Chairman Mao Zedong left- or right-handed?