Manila: The Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has waged a love-hate relationship with China ahead of bilateral talks between the two countries to resolve overlapping claims in the South China Sea, analysts said.
Duterte’s “friendly but critical foreign policy” with China is anchored on two objectives: to attract big Chinese investments his country needs for development; and to make China open up the China-controlled Scarborough Shoal to Filipino fishermen, said political analyst Prospero de Vera.
It is not known if China will give in to this demand — a contentious issue in bilateral talks, dates of which were not yet released.
Last July 25, a Hague-based arbitration court junked China’s claim to most of the South China Sea, called China’s expansion of reefs and shoals into artificial islands illegal, and ordered the Scaborough Shoal 230 kilometres west of Philippines Zambales in northern Luzon, to remain a common fishing ground for all claimants in the South China Sea. China took over the shoal in a standoff with Philippine vessels in 2012.
China has declined to recognise The Hague Court’s ruling, after snubbing the court’s legal process when the Philippines elevated its complaint against Beijing in 2013.
Duterte has vowed not to uphold the ruling in bilateral talks with China, but hinted of a temporary suspension, adding that someday he would “insist on its importance”.
Despite Duterte’s obvious innuendo, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin, said in a statement released on September 14, “At present, China-Philippine relations are at a new turning point.” This was after the visit of a 16-man delegation to Beijing, led by former interior and local government secretary Rafael Alunan in preparation for the bilateral talks between China and the Philippines.
Liu also expressed hope that the Philippines “can meet China halfway, appropriately handle disputes and push relations back onto the track of dialogue, consultation and friendly cooperation”.
In contrast, Global Times, China’s tabloid, expressed fear that it “will not necessarily be easy to deal with the Philippines under his (Duterte) rule”.
On Wednesday, Duterte revealed that China offered him a private plane for his travels in the Philippines and abroad, adding he has not accepted the offer.
He has been taking commercial flights; his use of a private chopper is being self-financed by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade. This was after Duterte has ordered the conversion of all aircraft assigned to him into air ambulance for policemen and military men who were killed and wounded while on duty.
Philippines’ Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana released at the leaders’ summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Laos last week, images of increased number of Chinese vessels at the Scarborough Shoal.
China, Vietnam, and Taiwan claim the whole of the South China Sea based on historical rights. Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim their respective 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone in the same sea where $5.3 trillion worth of trade passes every year.
