By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

PRESIDENT Bongbong Marcos’ Presidential Communications Office (PCO) is failing in its duty to maintain the highest level of public stature for the nation’s chief executive, especially when he visits foreign countries representing the Republic. He must be seen as not only being on top of the latest global political and foreign affairs development. Rather, he must be seen as ‘ahead of the curve,’ so to speak.

During his recent trip to Australia, one bold lettered header reads, “PH won’t give up even a square inch of territory – Bongbong Marcos.”  That tough mien against China’s presence in the South China Sea might have played well to former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s audience but not to the present Albanese government which has been warming to China.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese swept away in the 2022 elections the former Australian Morrison government known for its extreme anti-China rants and Wuhan Covid-19 origins lies following the diktats of the U.S.

Last November 4, 2023 Albanese arrived on a state visit to China and met with President Xi Jinping to “cooperate with China where we can, disagree where we must, but … also engage in our national interest.”

Albanese touched down in Shanghai on a Saturday and went straight to a banquet hosted by China’s premier Li Qiang. Albanese next met with President Xi Jinping and proceeded towards “rebuilding trust between China and Australia.”

Australia’s hopes are high today that trade barriers will slowly be lifted as evidenced by the imminent lifting of Australian wine tariffs.

In the past years of the Morrison government’s tiff with China Australia’s oversupply of wine topped 2.8bn bottles and the glut was seen to last years while prices of Australian red wine grapes plummet by more than half. Last February 28, 2024, Reuters reported that the Australia-China wine dispute would be resolved in days, and other reports indicate lobster and mineral export to China would follow.

Bongbong Marcos entered into storm-wracked waters with China in the whole year of 2023 by allowing the expansion of US military bases in the Philippines and unleashing under the prodding of US ex-USAF Col. Raymond Powell, the Philippine Coast Guard attack dogs on China’s South China Sea sovereign claims– just as Australia is leaving such US-inspired Cold War antics behind.

Ex-USAF colonel runs Philippines SCS show

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There are, however, signs that BBM has learned a few stinging lessons from the backlash to US enticements and pressures. He seems to be restoring serious talks with China beginning January of 2024.

In response, American Boys like US, err, Philippine ambassador to Washington Babes Romualdez, have taken to disingenuous propaganda to dissuade BBM, such as Romualdez’s claim the US will invest P 1.7-trillion (US $ 30-billion) to replace our China trade.

Biden can’t even give even a single dollar—up to now– of its G7 2021 commitment to a “Build, Back, Better World” to match China’s Belt and Road Initiative!

On the other hand, China has been actually investing US$ 1-trillion in ten years in global projects.

Another US initiative with India called the India Middle East Corridor to match China has also floundered. With its US $ 34-trillion debt growing by leaps and bounds, US aid is a pipe dream. If Amb. Babes is lying thru his teeth in trying to sell us this bogus package of goods or if he is plain daydreaming, we cannot tell. Either way, his claim of America investing $30 billion to make us distance from China is false.

The US proxy local Press have also taken to disingenuous distortions, like this February headline of the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI), “WPS economic sanctions to hurt PH, but China even more.”

2022 China-Philippine trade amounted to US$87.7-billion, PDI argues Philippines only exported US$ 11-billion for a trade deficit. However, Philippine imports from China are essentials unbeatable in price, quality, and availability.

The Philippines imports everything from 5G equipment of which China’s is the best and cheapest used by the country’s top telecoms to the cellphone the common folks would otherwise not be able to afford if Chinese phones we not available; farm tractors and irrigation pumps, to solar panels which again China’s is the best and cheapest available in the world. These are just a few of thousands of goods from China the country cannot do without.

Ordinary Filipinos are to suffer the most in trade tensions with China, in case the PDI and its bosses do not know it yet.

It is the Philippines fault it is suffering trade deficits with China, not the other way around.

Take tourism for example. Nearly 2-million Chinese tourists flocked to the Philippines in 2019 that generated $2-billion in revenues in 2019; the plummeting relationship between Manila and Beijing in 2023 resulted to only 260,000 Chinese tourists visiting the country compared to Thailand’s 3.5-million visitors. Who loses then? The ordinary working Filipinos of course.

Australia’s GDP is US$ 1.553-trillion while the Philippines’ is US$ 394.1 billion. Yet, Australia is modest enough to seek cooperation and congeniality with China even if the US is breathing down its neck to approve the Cold War AUKUS project.

PBBM should stop posturing as if he’s the big and tough guy in the “frontline of maritime disputes” as some international and local headlines highlighted BBM as saying. He is not. We are not. ###

   

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