BEIJING DOUBTS PHL SINCERITY: $1 B OIL VENTURE SHELVED ON EVE OF AQUINO VISIT
BEIJING, CHINA (PLDT), SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 (STANDARD) by Joyce Pangco Pañares (Beijing raises doubts over Manila's sincerity to build stronger ties following recent actions in the disputed Spratly Islands)
A Chinese petroleum company on Tuesday deferred a $1-billion investment in a joint venture to search for oil in the disputed South China Sea just as President Benigno Aquino III left for a five-day state visit to China.
Trade Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio said Sino Petroleum Corp. failed to get the required documents from the Chinese government to allow them to sign a deal with the Philippines.
"Sino Petroleum is totally out of the agenda. The President is not going to meet with them anymore," Panlilio said.
Beijing on Tuesday also questioned Manila's sincerity in building stronger ties following its recent actions over the disputed Spratly Islands.
Both sides have said they will put their disagreements over overlapping claims to the South China Sea islands on the back burner, but the official China Daily carried sharp criticism of recent Philippine actions on the eve of Mr. Aquino's visit.
"As a member of Asean, Manila should honor its commitment and refrain from making further provocative moves in the disputed waters. However, what has happened in the past month since the signing of the guidelines indicates Manila may have another agenda," the paper said.
"It continued to build a second construction on a disputed islet in the South China Sea. A week ago, Aquino hailed the Philippine's newly acquired warship from the United States as a symbol of the country's determination to defend its claims in the disputed South China Sea.
"These naturally raise doubts about Manila's sincerity in building stronger ties with China. Hence, the visiting president needs to prove he is serious about his words."
Mr. Aquino is leading a delegation of almost 300 business leaders on a trip during which the Philippines and China are expected to agree on a five-year economic development plan seeking to boost two-way trade six-fold, to about $60 billion.
Most of it will be Chinese investments in manufacturing, railways, shipyards, mining and tourism as the Philippine economy continues to grow and Mr. Aquino's government seeks funds to increase spending on social services to reduce poverty, his main election promise.
China is lagging behind the US and Japan as the Philippines' third-largest trade partner.
Beijing's attempts in the last decade to establish a more powerful economic and political presence in the former American colony floundered as Mr. Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, staggered in a series of corruption scandals over allegedly overpriced projects involving Chinese companies.
Under public pressure, Mrs. Arroyo in 2007 canceled a flagship $330-million government deal with China's ZTE Corp. to set up a nationwide broadband network. Her husband and a former elections chief have denied accusations of receiving kickbacks and ZTE of bribing any officials.
Aquino's government is also reviewing a Chinese-sponsored railway project that was initially worth $503 million, but the cost has reportedly ballooned to some $2 billion.
Still, the biggest irritant in the relations is the spat over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, where the Philippines has embarked on oil and gas exploration in what Beijing considers its territory.
Early this year, Manila accused China of harassing its oil survey ship, and Beijing said that recent construction work by Philippine troops on an island claimed by Manila violated the spirit of a preliminary agreement reached last month with other Southeast Asian nations.
Mr. Aquino said ahead of the visit that both countries wanted to resolve the dispute peacefully.
"It is said that there are couples who have been together for 50 years and they are still getting to know each other," he told Chinese media last week. With AP
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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