Close ties positive

“China can cripple the country’s energy imports.”

The stock index went up a day after the banners sprung up in Metro Manila welcoming people to the “Philippines, province of China.” Market pundits jokingly attributed it to Chinese businessmen taking to heart the streamer as an indication of brotherhood.

The Philippine Stock Exchange indicator gained 0.66 percent, or 48.60 points, to 7,399.18 points.

The trade volume reached P5.455 billion last Friday indicating brisk trade.

The political message of the banner, in fact, is lost if not placed in context with the anniversary of the 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China’s nine-dash line claim over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Welcome to China’s Philippines, inscribed in Chinese, also sounded a lot like the term good Filipino-American relations which the US-based yellow financial supporters proudly wave as their license to intrude into domestic affairs.

The aim of President Rodrigo Duterte’s detractors, of course, was to drum up outrage through the tarpaulins and blame him for China’s aggressive buildup and reclamation in the WPS.

Rody’s independent foreign policy has resulted in a more intimate diplomatic relations with China which the pro-American yellow mob and the scheming Red brigade spun as a sellout of the country’s sovereignty.

The real sellout, however, was the previous administration’s accession to the whims of the American government in the conduct of former President Barack Obama’s Asian pivot, including former President Noynoy Aquino’s refusal to sit down and negotiate with the Chinese.

The WPS standoff started after Noynoy sent a Navy warship to Scarborough shoal to round up Chinese poachers to which China responded by sending civilian vessels that never left the area.

Incidentally, the decommissioned Hamilton-class cutter of the US Coast Guard — which was renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar — was newly acquired from the administration of former US President Barack Obama that caused the confrontation.

Another coincidence was that Obama then was trying to justify his Asian pivot policy.

Noynoy chose the path of third-party arbitration that indeed resulted in a favorable ruling for the Philippines but it was a decision that can’t be enforced since China did not recognize the process.

Former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said taking a confrontational approach against China would expose the country to dire repercussions in a long-drawn adversarial relations that do not include war.

China, for instance, can use its growing global influence to apply pressure on the Philippines such as in the supply of fuel from Middle East countries which have close relations with it.

“The real sellout, however, was the previous administration’s accession to the whims of the American government.”

“China can cripple the country’s energy imports if it wants to,” Enrile said.

Rody’s pragmatic approach is to develop close relations with the country’s neighbor while not surrendering the country’s sovereignty claims.

The President, from the start, had known a six-year term would not allow him to face long-term repercussions in his foreign policy.

Closer ties with China means benefits from the Asian economic powerhouse that the country is slowly realizing but the Chinese can still improve on.

Enrile’s views mirror that of 62 percent of respondents in a recent Pulse Asia survey who approve of Rody’s policy towards China.

The June 15-25 survey, commissioned by the Albert del Rosario Institute, in line with the second anniversary of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling also had 73 percent saying the arbitral award should be used as a leverage against China.

Rody had indeed used the award to the hilt in extracting concessions from China.

His open-ended strategy of often reminding China that sometime during his term, he would raise the arbitral award had been effective in securing financial and other help from the Chinese government.

Add to this his enunciated position that the Chinese buildup is not directed against the Philippines but is an offshoot of the power play between China and the US.

Rody’s position puts both the Americans and the Chinese on their toes in terms of improving relations with the Philippines.

The country stands to gain nothing but untold sufferings if it insists on China a ruling that it had not recognized from the start.

Enrile said the country can’t afford a military face off with the mighty Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Rody’s remaining four years can be best put to good use by keeping China engaged in a dialogue which, anyway, is an expected manner among neighbors.