Despite a doomsday scenario being painted by critics of the Duterte administration, no less than former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo insists that China, should assume a big role in fostering cooperation in the disputed South China Sea or West Philippine Sea.
In a speech during China-Asean Mayor’s Forum in Nanning City in Guangxi province recently, Arroyo said she believes China should view itself as the “Big Uncle” to many nephews in the family. She said both uncles and nephews have responsibilities to work for harmony and the common good of the family.
Apart from the Philippines, China shares the waters in that area with Asean countries Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
While prodding China to assume a bigger role, Arroyo, however was critical of the Belt and Road Initiative saying it lacks feasibility studies to enable countries to better understand how they can contribute in creating the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative was set up by China in 2014 as it sealed its position as a key player in global trade. The initiative was envisioned to greatly increase trade between and among the countries, as well as make logistics and trade more affordable in the region.
The Pan-Beibu Gulf is an intersection of economic activity in south China, southwest China and Asean, as well as an important marine traffic hub connecting China with Asean countries.
Putting the necessary infrastructure in place, Arroyo, an economist, said that to this end, Asean countries can “jointly seek” technical and engineering manpower to prepare these feasibility studies designed for project proposals as the One Belt, One Road initiative can explore the inclusion of cities in terms of cross-border cooperation.
This, Arroyo said, would mean forging partnerships between cities that are near each other to connect the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as “bonds across the sea can be formed between and among our coastal communities.”
Arroyo also lauded China’s BRI citing its impact on neighboring countries like the Philippines.
According to Arroyo, China’s BRI could never have come at a more opportune time than today when China has finally emerged from four decades of breathtaking growth to become the world’s second-largest economy, projecting “President Xi Jinping’s vision to totally modernize and propel itself in the next decade or so when China will surely become the world’s No. 1 economy.”
Assessing China’s success in the last four decades, Arroyo cited five key factors which propelled China to where it is now, starting with its long-term vision backed by long-term planning, its strong will to implement that vision, followed by its embracing of technology through adaptation and innovation.
The fourth and fifth keys to China’s success, Arroyo said, are its recognition of the value of infrastructure and its tremendous ability to access, harness and employ capital.
Arroyo said that while many countries lacked resources, especially capital and access to technology, China has so much resources that other countries are benefitting from the trickle-down effect, although she pointed out that the immediate obstacle facing these countries is not the absence of willing capital but the lack of feasibility studies.
It is imperative, therefore, that Asean countries harness the technical and engineering manpower and expertise available in the region to prepare the feasibility studies for project proposals.
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I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest gratitude to lawyer Dennis Manalo and his partner, Gemma Andrea Javier, for the successful handling of the cyber libel case filed against me and my editor and publisher from my former paper, resulting to our acquittal.
This actually was the third of the five cases resulting from an article I wrote in 2017. The other two are still pending with the Office of the Prosecutor, awaiting resolution soon. But with my lawyers’ effective handling of my defense, I am optimistic they would also end up with favorable results.