Bersamin: ‘Phl can live without China’

Executive Secretary Justice Lucas Bersamin on Thursday said that the Philippines can live without China and that it should avoid overdependence on its Asian neighbor despite the two countries' strong economic ties.

In a recent interview with journalist Ka Tunying, he asked Bersamin whether the Philippines is dependent on China. He responded that the question has many aspects and that he is not in a position to speak about it because he is too close to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

However, Bersamin did say that the Philippines is dealing with the issue of its relationship with China diplomatically. He also said that it is still possible for the Philippines to go with China but that the country should not be too dependent on its Asian neighbor.

"We are dealing with (several) issues diplomatically. It is still possible for us to go with China, but about the economic viability of our relations or the economic dimensions if we were to go against China. You know, we can't say that we are dependent on China," Bersamin said.

"China might be our trading partner or supplier, or it gives us some products that we may need, but we should not be too dependent on China. I don't think China will even want us to be dependent because China knows that we have a multilateral approach," Bersamin added.

Bersamin's statement comes when the Philippines is facing increasing pressure from China in the South China Sea. China has been militarizing islands and reefs in the disputed waters despite a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that invalidated its claims.

When asked if he thinks China needs the Philippines more than the Philippines needs China, Bersamin said that the Philippines has exclusive rights to the fisheries and natural resources in that area.

"Perhaps China is acting this way because they know that in the eyes of other countries, we are the ones who should be recognized as having the exclusive right to own these fisheries and natural resources in that area," Bersamin said.

"That's probably why China is acting like that. But beyond that, we do not want to have a conflict with China. We do not want to provoke a conflict with China because we can coexist with China."

Ka Tunying, meanwhile, said that more countries are siding with the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea dispute because the current administration is being more transparent about what China is doing.

"The biggest news today regarding China's aggression is that more countries are siding with us because this administration is becoming transparent about what China is doing in the WPS (West Philippine Sea). Did you notice that during the previous administration, they intentionally did not report what China was doing because we didn't want to upset China back then?" Ka Tunying asked Bersamin.

Bersamin said that he was not paying much attention to the issue during the previous administration. Still, he said that he wants to avoid comparing the two administrations' foreign policy directions.

"I don't want to compare," he said. "We leave that to the Presidents to make those decisions, the directions that they take," he added.

Despite the dispute, the Philippines and China have maintained close economic ties.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that China has become the Philippines' primary trade partner, representing a significant portion of the nation's exports and serving as the leading provider of imported products.

As of May, exports reached a total of $6.44 billion, with China carrying out 16.6 percent of total exports during the month.

Import costs, meanwhile continued to surpass export receipts, hitting $10.84 billion during the month. China was also the country's biggest source of imported goods, supplying 24 percent of the country's total imports.