“The presidential candidates should be ready to discuss the China question.”
How will the next administration deal with China in the next six years?
We have yet to hear anyone among the presidential candidates unveil a well-thought-out and coherent position regarding the country’s relations with our next-door neighbor, quite possibly because they would rather talk on pressing domestic issues.
But the candidates should be ready to discuss the China question when the campaign period starts this month as this is a key component of our foreign policy.
After all, the 1987 Constitution provides that “the State shall pursue an independent foreign policy” and that in “its relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination.” Has the Duterte administration’s attitude toward China hewed to the concept of an “independent foreign policy” or not?
Recall that during presidential debate in the 2016 elections, Duterte declared that once elected, he would take a jet-ski to the nearest contested Spratly island and hoist the Philippine flag there. That declaration may have earned him votes then, but subsequent events—and his own admission that it was nothing more than a big joke that only the stupid would have believed—demonstrated not only a profound understanding of the broad range of foreign policy issues from A to B, but also a herky-jerky approach to our relations with other countries.
It’s the Beijing side, from where I sit, that has a clear view of how it intends to pursue bilateral ties in the years ahead, even beyond the term of our next president.
The Chinese position on our bilateral relations was clearly laid out by State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the online 5th China-Philippines Manila Forum organized by the Chinese Embassy in Manila and the Association for the Philippines-China Understanding (APCU).
Foreign Minister Wang delivered a video message where he said China will continue to adhere to its policy of good-neighborliness, security and prosperity, uphold the diplomatic policy of goodwill, sincerity and tolerance, and strengthen solidarity and cooperation with the Philippines.
“We are ready to work together with the Philippines to completely overcome the epidemic. We are willing to continue to guarantee the Philippine side’s vaccine needs, and to carry out cooperation on special drugs and public health capacity building until the virus is completely defeated,” Wang said. He told the meeting that China has provided more than 57 million doses of the (COVID-19) vaccine to the Philippines.
The Chinese official said Beijing is “ready to work with the Philippines to accelerate development and revitalization” as part of its Belt and Road initiative, which calls for the construction of various irrigation, dam, telecommunication, railroad and bridge projects, aside from helping in the post-war reconstruction in Marawi.
Moreover, Wang said, as the Philippines’ largest trading partner and largest export market, “China is willing to continue to open its doors to more Philippine agricultural products, bring more investment, and help the Philippines accelerate the process of industrialization and modernization and improve its independent development capacity.”
At this point, China’s top diplomat discussed at length what up to now has been a contentious issue between the two countries.
“We are willing to work together with the Philippines to properly deal with the South China Sea issue. Both China and the Philippines have their own claims and positions, and in the event that we cannot agree at the moment, we should put this issue in its proper place to prevent it from affecting or even abducting the overall situation of China-Philippines relations. To highlight only unilateral claims and impose our own opinions on the other side is not a true way to serve our neighbors, nor is it our Eastern philosophy of getting along. China will never bully the small with the big, and we do not believe that the winner takes all. We are willing to work with the Philippines in a spirit of goodwill and pragmatism to find ways to control and solve the problem. We should make an early decision to promote joint development without affecting our respective claims, so that the South China Sea issue can be turned from a challenge into an opportunity and become a positive factor to help the Philippines’ national development and enhance friendship between the two peoples.”
At the same time, Wang reiterated that China is “ready to work hand in hand with the Philippines to maintain regional peace and stability. East Asia is the common home of China and the Philippines and is the region with the most development potential in the world, a hard-won situation that deserves to be cherished. At the same time, we need to see that some extraterritorial forces are constantly taking provocative actions in an attempt to undermine this good momentum. As important members of the region, China and the Philippines should firmly pursue an independent foreign policy, maintain the ASEAN-centered regional cooperation framework, deepen the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership, and contribute to maintaining regional stability and promoting regional prosperity.”
Our question is: How will the next administration deal with Beijing in the next six years? Will it concur lock, stock, and barrel with the Chinese position, or chart a new path that asserts the national interest especially on the South China Sea issue?
ernhil@yahoo.com