Nuisance

Every two weeks, it seems, Sen. Antonio Trillanes brings up an issue that he promises will lead to President Duterte’s ouster. Instead of filing a case and bringing his so-called ‘evidence’ to a proper court, the senator prefers to use the Senate as a stage for his grandstanding. He could be misusing a vital institution.

Fortunately, not too many share his obsession with ousting a sitting president. Otherwise, all our politics will be up in the air, spun by reckless accusations and an overdose of name-calling. His, so far, remains a lonely crusade.

Last week, he threatened to bring in more witnesses to confirm the existence of the “Davao Death Squad.” We have seen none so far. Yawn.

This week, Trillanes seized upon President Duterte’s admission he invited Chinese research vessels to check out Benham Rise. He describes this a betrayal of our sovereignty and an impeachable offense. It turns out the matter did not deserve the excitement the renegade senator hoped to generate.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, who soldiered diligently in countering China’s claim in the Spratlys, came forward to deliver precious enlightenment on the Banham Rise issues.

The Philippines, Carpio explains, was awarded “sovereign rights” and not “sovereignty” over the submerged volcanic plateau. By the terms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Philippines enjoys such rights because the area is well within both our exclusive economic zone (EEC) and our extended continental shelf.

What this means is that while the Philippines has exclusive rights over exploitation of the Benham Rise, we do not have sovereignty over the sea area above it. We cannot impede freedom of navigation in international waters. Not only can we not prevent a research scan of the area by other countries, we are bound to encourage such activities because they will benefit all of mankind.

There is, therefore, no legal issue over President Duterte’s invitation for China to conduct research in the area. We do have rights to prevent other countries from exploiting the resources of the area.

That matter is extremely clear to Beijing as indicated by the statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry the other day. China recognizes the UN award of “sovereign rights” to the Philippines and at the same time exercises freedom of navigation across the area.

There is, therefore, no controversy here – save the spectacle of Trillanes sticking his foot in his mouth again.

Deal

When China committed support for our economic development, consequent to President Duterte’s recalibration of Philippine foreign policy, our neighbor was not merely engaging in acoustics.

Earlier this month, China’s minister of commerce Zhong Shan came to Manila to conclude the 28th meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Trade and Cooperation and sign various agreements with his Filipino counterparts to facilitate the flow of Chinese economic assistance. The deals signed amount to $170 billion and include as priority projects the New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam project, the Chico River Pump Irrigation project and the North-South Railway Line. All these projects will commence this year.

In addition, China will provide grants for the construction of Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon bridges. These projects, also due to commence this year, will help ease the horrendous traffic congestion in the NCR.

During President Duterte’s visit to Beijing October last year, the Chinese government promised to bring a million tourists to the country starting this year. True enough, our consular officials have noted a 250 percent jump in Chinese visa application through the month of January.

 Today, Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang arrives in Manila to deliver on other commitments. He will be handing the President a $1 billion check representing his country’s contribution to helping rebuild the Surigao provinces recently hit by a major quake. Wang visits Davao City tomorrow to call on the President.

In addition, Wang will sign letters of intent with the Board of Investments covering business projects of Chinese companies amounting to $10 billion.  The investments are within the framework of the Six-Year Development Program for Economic and Trade Cooperation between our two countries.

While in Davao, Wang will sign a purchase agreement for $1 billion worth of pineapples, bananas, durian, avocado, coconut, mango, dragon fruit, mangosteen and other Philippine agricultural exports. This will be a major boost to our farming communities and will go a long way in reviving high-value crops. Recall that port restriction on Philippine banana and mango exports, imposed after relations with the Aquino government soured five years ago, were lifted after Duterte’s visit to Beijing.

 Since last year, bilateral trade between the Philippines and China grew significantly by 3.4%. We can expect that bilateral trade to grow even more dramatically in the coming few years – notwithstanding Trillanes’ heckling from the sidelines.

There are other agreements in the pipeline, including those that cover technology for rice and aquaculture, alert and notification mechanisms on plant and animal diseases, the development of a Philippines-China Industrial Park, credit support and private sector investments for downstream oil projects, a parts manufacturing facility for the aviation industry, ship-building facilities, an integrated steel mill, cross-border e-commerce, big data analytics and export promotion.

With our participation in the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), ratified last December by the Philippine Senate, we will now have access to funding for other initiatives such as the Metro Manila Flood Management Project and the EDSA Bus Rapid Transit System. Among other agreements are those involving the Customs Bureau, the PDEA and the Coast Guard with their Chinese counterpart for intelligence sharing and interdiction of contraband.