21 Nov 2007
The Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao met late yesterday to discuss the possible joint oil and gas development in the South China Sea, a statement from the presidential palace said today. Arroyo and Wen met on the sidelines of the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Summit in Singapore, the statement said. In 2005, China, the Philippines and Vietnam signed a cooperation agreement over the Spratly islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, who is also the presidential spokesman, said that Wen expressed hope "the three countries would continue the cooperation on the developmental level" now that seismic studies to determine the location and size of possible oil or natural gas deposits have been completed. Bunye said it is unclear when the joint exploration will take place and how each country will share the development of the potentially oil-rich Spratlys. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have territorial claims in the area. Source: Dow Jones
linkWhen President Arroyo succeeded Estrada in 2001, her administration set economic rejuvenation as its top priority. Manila looked to China, Asia’s fastest growing economy, as one of the key economic engines that could help pull the country out of its economic torpor. Arroyo was determined to prevent the Spratlys dispute from hindering the development of bilateral ties, especially the goal of strengthening two-way trade and investment. As the new century dawned, the economic relationship between the two countries was at last beginning to show promise, mainly due to China’s thirst for imported raw materials and other commodities. In 2000, the value of two-way trade stood at US$3.3 billion; by 2005, it had risen to $17.6 billion, an increase of 433 percent (China Daily, January 16). In 2005, the PRC was the Philippines’ fourth-largest trade partner (after the United States, Japan and the European Union) up from 12th place in 2001 (Philippines National Statistics Office, June). Notably, the Philippines enjoys a healthy trade surplus with the PRC, amounting to an astonishing $8.1 billion in 2005 (Philippine Star, June 1). The PRC has also stepped up aid and investment to the Philippines in recent years. During Hu’s visit, China agreed to invest $1.1 billion in the Philippines (including $950 million in a nickel mining plant in the economically depressed Mindanao region). It also agreed to provide a $542 million concessional loan for the upgrade of the North Luzon railway project from Manila to the Clark Special Economic Zone, plus an additional $2.5 million in grants (Philippine Star, April 28, 2005). Since Hu’s visit, several large delegations of Chinese businessmen have passed through the Philippines and have shown a keen interest in investing in infrastructure projects, agriculture and fisheries, mining and offshore oil fields. The two sides have set an annual target of $30 billion in bilateral trade by 2010. Given the extraordinary annual growth rate of 40 percent, this target seems quite realistic.
The second factor behind improved relations has been the potential breakthrough in the Spratlys dispute. As part of China’s charm offensive toward the Southeast Asian region, Beijing has sought to reassure the ASEAN countries that its growing power does not pose a threat to regional stability. China wants to demonstrate that its behavior in the Spratlys dispute is a “litmus test” of its benign intentions toward Southeast Asia. As a result, in 2002 China and ASEAN signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC) which aimed to freeze the status quo and encouraged the disputants to pursue confidence-building measures (CBMs) to ease tensions. The DoC paved the way for a landmark agreement between state-owned energy companies Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) to conduct joint seismic studies in the disputed waters of the South China Sea to assess the extent of the oil and gas deposits in the area. The agreement—known as the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU)—was signed in September 2004 during a state visit to the PRC by President Arroyo. Manila has characterized the JMSU as “marine scientific research,” one of the CBMs outlined in the DoC. In March 2005, after initially condemning the agreement, Vietnam’s PetroVietnam joined the JMSU as well. The three parties have stressed, however, that the three-year JMSU is a commercial agreement only, that it will not involve any drilling and that it does not change the sovereignty claims of the three countries involved. Nevertheless, Arroyo hailed the JMSU as a “historic diplomatic breakthrough for peace and security in the region,” while China lauded the agreement as the first step toward implementing Deng Xiaoping’s 1988 proposal to shelve the sovereignty dispute in favor of the joint exploration and extraction of resources.
linkArroyo's withdrawal of Phillipine troops in Iraq in 2004 and her turn towards China, Including talk of a joint defense treaty with China, angered the Bush Administration who then set out to destroy her.
US intelligence created false evidence of corruption and the US hand-picked successor as President, Benigno Aquino III, had her jailed on false charges.
Aquino immediately reversed course with China.
The Phillipine Supreme Court has just released Arroyo after 5 years, with an apology, saying there was no evidence of corruption.
Duterte, the new president (as of June 30, 2016), was a political ally of Arroyo.
Duterte has already signaled a return to Arroyo's policies and pivot to China.
Western Media is already attacking him.
So, much of what you are reading in the Western Media about protecting the Phillipines from China, and protecting Phillipine sovereignty, is nonsense.
We know Duterte is embracing China. And we're trying to throw a wrench into it.
The case before the ICJ regarding Maritime borders was brought by US lapdog Aquino. Duterte is already trying to mend fences with China.
"For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and provide for it." - Patrick Henry
The level of injustice and wrong you endure is directly determined by how much you quietly submit to. Even to the point of extinction.