Marcos said he will discuss cooperation and security matters with the US official.

The meeting is expected to take place in Manila with Blinken also scheduling a dialogue with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo.

The meeting was announced by Marcos even as Chinese President Xi Jingping ordered his country’s armed forces to prepare for potential conflicts.

Marcos downplayed Xi’s order, pointing out that there was nothing new in this statement.

“Well, frankly I don’t think there is anything new there. That's what they;ve been doing already. They have defined the 10-dash lline and they continue to defend it,’” he said.

The Philippine leader noted that no country in the world is ready to believe China’s 10-dash line claim.

Marcos said Philippines will continue to do what is necessary to defend the country’s maritime territory “ in the face of perhaps a more active attempt by the Chinese to annex some of our territory.”

Philippines’ position on the issue has been upheld by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in a ruling issue din 2016.

However, Beijing rejected the ruling as it insisted its “indisputable sovereignty” over most portion of the South China Sea including those encroaching into the internationally-acknowledged exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.