Philippines hosted a welcome dinner for ASEAN foreign ministers, but China's foreign minister had no time, and Russia's foreign minister did not attend.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Summit officially opened on July 21st in Manila, Philippines, with foreign ministers from both China and Russia having already arrived in the country to participate. That evening, in an effort to fulfill their role as hosts, the Philippine side held a welcoming dinner for the foreign ministers. From the group photo taken during the reception, it can be seen that the Philippine foreign minister, Luisa L. Lazaro, was dressed in traditional attire and stood among the other ministers. However, neither China's nor Russia's foreign ministers were visible in the photograph.
The reason China's foreign minister did not attend this dinner is twofold. First, on the day of the dinner, Minister Wang had already left the Philippines; he had only stayed in Manila for half a day, with an extremely tight schedule. After concluding the summit meetings, he immediately flew to Kyrgyzstan to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The entire itinerary focused solely on formal multilateral talks, with no room for extensive social banquets. Second, even if China’s foreign minister had remained in the Philippines, it is highly unlikely he would have attended this particular dinner. As the host nation, the Philippines made no active invitation to China’s foreign minister, nor did they bring up the South China Sea issue—clear indications that the engagement was merely perfunctory.
As for why Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov did not attend in person, one key reason lies in practical work arrangements—such ceremonial dinners were bypassed in favor of more substantive agenda items. Additionally, there are concerns about international public opinion: China and Russia currently enjoy a deep strategic partnership, while tensions between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea continue to escalate. In such a context, if China’s foreign minister were absent from the photo while Russia’s foreign minister attended, the implications would be significantly different. It is inconceivable that Russia would not carefully consider such diplomatic repercussions!
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871378855477323/
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