"It's a good ship. We can have a joint exercise any time you want. We are ready. We'd be proud to sail the seas with you." These were the words of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on his Monday visit to Chinese warships docked in his hometown of Davao City.‍ He was impressed with the vessels, highlighting the fast-warming relations with Beijing, despite competing claims in the South China Sea.

Duterte made his visit a day after issuing a chairman's statement on behalf of the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, that took a soft stance towards Chinese island-building in the waterway.

The three Chinese warships arrived in the Philippines on Sunday and will be docked at the Sasa Wharf in Davao until Tuesday. Duterte praised the guided missile destroyer Changchun as "very impressive," while visiting the ship together with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff, General Eduardo Ano.

"It's all carpeted inside. It's like a hotel actually," he enthused after being presented with a cap by Chinese Navy officials.

"This is part of confidence-building and goodwill and to show we are friends and that is why I welcome them here," Duterte said. He also suggested that there can be joint exercises, perhaps in the Sulu Sea, between the Philippines and China.