Philippines says sea tensions with China have not hurt economy

MANILA: The Philippines said geopolitical tensions with Beijing have not affected the nation’s economy and the government is still willing to work with Chinese investors.

"There doesn’t seem to be any indication at all that these issues have remarkable adverse effects on the economy,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan (pic) said on Thursday (May 10), shortly after the government reported first-quarter growth of 5.7%, below a 5.9% expansion seen in a Bloomberg survey.