China’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed reports claiming that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sought asylum in China to avoid arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
During a press briefing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun clarified that China has not received any asylum application from Duterte or his family. He said that Duterte’s recent trip to Hong Kong was purely for personal vacation and warned against spreading unverified information from anonymous sources.
Duterte was arrested on March 11 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila upon his return from Hong Kong. The arrest was made in connection with a warrant issued by the ICC, which is investigating the controversial “war on drugs” that marked Duterte’s presidency.
