By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

Twenty-one member nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation community have just concluded its 31^st summit in Peru under the theme “Empower. Include. Grow” with the aim of further integrating the economies of the countries in and around the Asia-Pacific for greater common progress and prosperity. APEC started in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and mushrooming regional trade blocs and open new markets for the members.

It is important for Filipinos to be reminded that the trade and economic relations the country is involved with should be top priority for the nation, but sadly this is being forgotten the past two years in particular with the intervention of the U.S. to disrupt Philippine national unity and divert national energies to internal conflict (as in the Quadcomm inquisitions raging now) and regional tensions in exacerbating the SCS dispute with China with “Lawfare” (arbitration row and new Maritime Laws).

                In APEC, Asia, Latin America and ASEAN, except for the Philippines, are focused on advancing economic prosperity. The APEC 2024 in Peru highlights the “new Galleon Trade route” once proudly based in the Philippines but replaced by the “Shanghai to Chancay Port” route. President Xi Jinping will inaugurate the $ 3.5-billion Chancay Port during APEC, cutting shipping time from Asia to Latin America from 40 days to 23 opening the vast market of Latin America to Asia.

The Chancay Port project in Peru is a Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of China where the world can witness the unfolding of the global plan of infrastructure investments and development transform economies and nations stuck in centuries of snail-paced economic ascendance caused by oppressive suppression, oppression and parasitic exploitation by Western powers, be liberated to pursue faced paced agricultural and industrial development opened by market accessibility.

Way back in the 2014 APEC meet, President Xi said, “We are duty-bound to create and fulfill an Asia-Pacific dream for our people. This dream is about acting in the spirit of the Asia-Pacific community and out of a sense of shared destinies, following the trend of our times: peace, development and mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly working for the prosperity and progress of our region.” This year, in the 31st APEC summit President Xi is cutting the ribbon for Latin America to realize the dream.

Aside from Peru, Chile, Brazil, Columbia and Ecuador will be expanding by multiple-fold their combines export of $135-Billion to China thanks to the BRI  port project. The Philippines opted out, or was forced to be the US, of the BRI in 2023 after the staged SCS clashes the Philippine Coast Guard initiated against the Chinese Coast Guard which is a blow to Philippine economic development and progress from which it is unable to recover from to this date.

                Bongbong Marcos, Jr. and his US proxy minions are made to expect alternative economic development support from the US, Japan and, at that time, India. Now India is leaving the US-Japan alliance gradually to join RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) led by China, while US has denied a Free Trade Agreement with the Philippines and Japan is teetering on the precipice of a recession. The Filipino-US proxies have doomed the Philippines and Filipinos by this.

The significance of BRI.

Vision: a path to global wellbeing; A path to prosperity. A path to openness. A path to innovation. A path to social progress.

One assessment of the impact of BRI on ASEAN.

BRI impact on Asia

A Post script on the PH and BRI.

                In November of 2023 it was announced and broadcasted all over the world that the Philippines was leaving the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), the multi-decadal multi-trillion global-interconnectivity transport, trade, power and telecoms infrastructure program of China using its South China Sea dispute with China as alibi but actually due to the arbitrary act of President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. (PBBM) in betraying the country’s independent foreign policy for what multitudes believe to be a “secret deal” with the U.S. over hidden wealth.

In retrospect, PBBM’s deal with the Americans to withdraw too from the China-funded BRI projects with the Philippines at the very inception of his governance. In July of 2022, just a month after the inauguration of his new government, PBBM’s minions were already emitting the signals. DOTr Undersecretary Cesar Chavez announced that the government “may scrap its deal with China on the Laguna to Bicol railway… and tap private investors instead.” (https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/04/23/govt-mulls-ppp-for-south-railway-as-china-deal-drags )

Some of PBBM minion’s claims is: China’s loans charge high interest rates, an allegation that American inspired Filipino sources had kept claiming from the start of the Duterte administration and which had been repeatedly debunked by finance officials of the Duterte administration pointing to 2% interest compared to even higher rates accepted by previous governments of 3%. ( https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1098953016932647&id=280557962105494&set=a.280593182101972 )

Another tactic used by the obstructionists is to confuse the public by comparing apples to oranges, citing Yen loans, insufficient in the first place for the number of project planned) with 0.2 0.3% interest rates that when converted into US Dollars loans would be even higher or just equalizes, and then comparing to Chinese Dollar loans and thereby claiming the Chinese loans charge exorbitant rates. ( https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1102063709954911&id=280557962105494&set=a.280593182101972 )

The  Philippine government under PBBM and the PH mainstream media has perpetuates another deception saying that China has withdrawn its funding commitments, this is debunked by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian’s statement in July of 2022 that “the embassy maintained that they are still negotiating with the Philippines over funding for infrastructure projects, as we can see from the Yahoo News (see slide) report of that time. In 2024 it is clear that man priority ODA-funded projects are delayed and only the PBBM government is to be blamed.

The result of the Philippine withdrawal from the BRI has been a significant shortfall, if not complete loss, of funding for ODA projects that Senator Imee Marcos starting February 2023 as shown in several social media posts she made but which mainstream media apparently had tried to keep under the rug. The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) had started to issue alerts on the ODA funded projects crisis as shown in the news report cited:

   

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