CHINESE ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua denied that he is aware of a Chinese Bamboo Triad, a drug ring operating in the Philippines, and assured local officials that China will not protect criminals.
Zhao was reacting to President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that the Bamboo Triad and the 14K, Chinese and Taiwanese syndicates, have turned the Philippines into large-scale drug manufacturers.
“To be honest, I know nothing about it. The President may be right in pointing out there are some really bad Chinese who are doing the illegal drugs,” Zhao said in an ambush interview Tuesday night.
“We do not know much about the syndicates or drug rings operating in the Philippines but if we have any [information] we are ready to share [this] with the Filipino side,” Zhao said.
In his speech during the 120th anniversary of the Justice department, Duterte claimed that these syndicates had been used the country as a transshipment point for shabu sales to the United States.
“The drug trade is being operated by the 14K [and the] Bamboo Triad. They have taken over. They are cooking shabu on the aisles,” Duterte said.
At the DoJ, the President noted those cooking shabu in the country were given “franchise and distribution” rights by these two groups to operate in the country.
Zhao assured Duterte that the Chinese government policy is very firm and it will continue to support his campaign against illegal drugs and drug-related crimes.
“We have already begun the interagency cooperation, sharing intel, providing equipment and we hope that this kind of cooperation and coordination will be enhanced,” Zhao said.
He also assured the Philippines that China will not protect its nationals once they have committed a crime here.
Zhao said both China and the Philippines are facing the same problems, and he urged Manila to work closely with them in combating the illegal drug trade.
“Illicit drugs and drug-related criminal acts are our common enemies. We need to work together to fight against it. Hopefully we can eradicate all these crimes in the future,” he added.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office representative Gary Song-Huann Lin also denied in a separate statement that Taiwan is the source of illicit narcotics.
“Taiwan fully supports the Philippines’ combat against transnational drug syndicates. Taiwan will continue to join hands with the Philippine relevant authorities to enhance cooperation to vigorously eliminate the transnational drug traffickings,” Lin said.
Teco said Lin has recently approached the relevant Philippine government agencies and the Senate to clarify that Taiwan has never been the source of illegal drugs.
Based on Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, most of the drugs are actually manufactured locally and do not come from overseas, Teco said.
Lin also emphasized that Taiwan and the Philippines have been working together to fight illegal drug for years.
He said in recent years, Taipei and Manila have established cooperation mechanisms and systems for the two countries to fight illegal transnational drug trafficking.
