PHL’s top diplomat: ‘More gains’ with China under Duterte
FOREIGN AFFAIRS Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano on Sunday said the Philippines under the Duterte administration has more gains with China because of its “prudent and patient diplomatic approach” compared with the previous administration.
Also on Sunday, Malacañang confirmed that a Chinese aircraft had landed in Davao City last Friday “for refueling,” but stopped short of describing the vehicle as a military plane, images of which were spread on social media.
‘PREVIOUS APPROACH IS LOUD’
“Under the management and administration of President Duterte, we have more gains today. The previous approach is loud but (there are) a lot of losses. There are victories, there are gains but many losses. But doing it through a prudent and patient diplomatic approach, there are many results,” Mr. Cayetano told reporters after the arrival of 100 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City.
For instance, Mr. Cayetano said the military has reported less than 10 incidents of grave concern in the last two years compared with the previous administration where there were incidents every week.
“So we need to see not only the problem but the solutions that were already laid down,” he said.
Sought for comment, foreign policy expert Richard J. Heydarian of De La Salle University said the Philippines’ position with China has been a “mixed baggage” under the Duterte administration.
He said the administration may be lauded for its efforts to open communication channels with China, for raising the prospects of Chinese investments in the country, and also for allowing the Filipino fishermen easier access to Scarborough shoal.
However, Mr. Heydarian said the Philippines’ position was actually worse in the past years due to China’s militarization in the South China Sea. He also pointed out that the Duterte administration “overly emphasized” its engagement with China, noting that being “meek and humble” with China still had not shown evidence that it would be “merciful” to the Philippines.
“The fairest way of looking at this is to say it has been a mixed baggage. It is unfair to blame the Duterte administration for our deteriorating strategic position on the ground but I think it is also very unfortunate that the Duterte administration has not leveraged our arbitration award in the best way possible,” he said in a phone interview with BusinessWorld.
Mr. Heydarian said the Aquino administration had been strong in its confrontation with China but also noted the past administration forgot the value of maintaining robust communication channels with the Asian power.
He also pointed out the Aquino administration over-relied on while the Duterte administration underappreciated its alliance with the United States.
“It’s only the United States that’s willing to give the kind of assistance that gives us a fighting chance in terms of deterring China,” he said.
For his part, defense analyst and Institute for Policy, Strategy and Development Studies Fellow Jose Antonio A. Custodio disagreed with Mr. Cayetano, pointing out the lack of reported incidents during the Duterte administration was caused by the lack of any presence of Philippines ships in the area. —