"How exactly are our ties? Here's the Chinese ambassador. "
"How exactly are our ties? Here's the Chinese ambassador. "
We've been keeping tabs on the current state of Philippines-China relations since 2016, when the Duterte administration said it would pursue an independent foreign policy as the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides. That meant a drastic shift away from our so-called "special relations" with the United States anchored on economic assistance and defense cooperation forged during the Cold War, and a surprising pivot to non-traditional allies such as China and Russia, two other economic and military powers in the world today.
I'm interested in how China, or next-door neighbor to the West, looks at our overall relations at present in light of President Duterte's recent pronouncement before the United Nations General Assembly that his administration would pursue the enforcement of the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Arbitral Tribunal of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The ruling dismissed China's claim over much of the South China Sea on the basis of its so-called nine-dash line.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, in a recent webinar organized by the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU), assessed our present bilateral ties.
In his remarks, entitled "Keep Abreast of the Right Side of History to Achieve Common Development in the Challenging World," Huang pointed out that this year marks the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Since China was founded in 1949, especially in the past four decades since reform and opening up, it has grown into the world’s second largest economy and a manufacturing giant, contributing over 30 percent to global growth for the past ten-plus years in a row and over 70 percent to global poverty reduction.
China, Huang said, owes its economic development to three factors. First is the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), whose aspiration and mission is to "fulfill the Chinese people’s pursuit of happiness and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Second is China commitment to the path of peaceful development. And third, the "hard work, wisdom and courage of the Chinese people to strive for a better life."
The Chinese envoy emphasized that "a prosperous China is an indispensable part of the collective rejuvenation of Asian countries, and also represents the shared vision of developing countries around the globe."
Huang said that since 1975, the main theme of bilateral relations has been "profound friendship and win-win cooperation" based on mutual political trust and people-to-people exchanges. Facing the common problem of COVID-19, our two countries have supported each other, nurturing a closer partnership in the new era.
But it's in the latter part of his speech that he addresses issues between our two countries.
First of all, he said, "our amicable ties should not be over-set or weakened by some particular differences or disputes. Nothing but good-neighborly friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation meets the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, which has been solidified during our joint fight against Covid-19."
"The consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President Duterte, such as putting aside maritime disputes, managing the situation through bilateral consultations and enhancing dialogue and cooperation, have to be vigorously implemented by both sides, so that the sound momentum of bilateral relations as a guidepost to the way forward could be enhanced."
Second, China will continue to engage with the Philippines in joint COVID-19 prevention and control and step up efforts for the establishment of a “fast lane” for urgently needed personnel exchanges and “green corridor” for logistics, so as to ensure stable industrial and supply chains. He gave assurances that China stands ready to further synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and the Build, Build, Build program to accelerate Philippine economic recovery and growth.
Third, the differences between our two countries should be properly handled. "It is just normal to have differences even among best friends. What matters is how we handle and manage those differences. The South China Sea issue is only a small part of China-Philippines relations." Thus, dialogue mechanisms such as the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) between the two countries should be given the chance to succeed.
Huang lamented "groundless and misleading accusations" in media articulated by certain sectors, such as the perceived security threat posed by Chinese projects and the so-called “China debt trap.” He said that there is no evidence that Chinese projects threaten national security. As for the China debt, he cited the disclosure by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that loans from China only account for a mere 0.65 percent of the country’s total debt.
Concluding his remarks, Huang stressed that to foster a favorable atmosphere for bilateral ties in the years ahead, "mutual understanding and good faith between our two peoples have to be further enhanced through extensive people-to-people exchanges and interactions" and by avoiding "rumor-mongering that slanders China-Philippines relations."