Linking NBN to Spratlys deal threatens RP-China relations

[chilli]

Just read this news... hmm what do you guys think?

DFA OFFICIAL SAYS
[SIZE=3]Linking NBN to Spratlys deal threatens RP-China relations [/SIZE]
By Veronica Uy

MANILA, Philippines -- The country’s relations with China are “in serious jeopardy” because of the "unsubstantiated" linking of bilateral agreements with the emerging economic giant are being linked to the alleged corruption in the $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal with China's ZTE Corp.
This was revealed by a senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), who asked not to be named as she is not authorized to speak on the matter, who also blamed the United States, a major economic rival of China, for “fueling” the controversy over China-related agreements and issues.
The senior Filipino diplomat insisted that the NBN controversy is not in anyway linked with the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) or even the dispute over the Spratlys, as both have been the subject of continuing diplomatic reviews over the past 10 years.
"We are putting our diplomatic relations with China in serious jeopardy because the ZTE investigation is being linked to the JMSU. The Chinese government is now raising protest on the way we handle the matter," she said.
"The US has been wanting to be involved in the oil exploration in the South China Sea but the Philippines has already agreed to undertake this with China," the diplomat explained.

The senior diplomat also blames the public’s eroding trust in the Arroyo administration for compounding the problem. “The problem is the Arroyo administration has lost its credibility to govern and anything it does now is being viewed with distrust,” she said.

On the other hand, another DFA official privy to the negotiations on the JMSU said the so-called Spratlys deal, the tripartite agreement with China and Vietnam for the joint seismic survey, was separately negotiated from the economic agreements with China like North Rail and the NBN project.

The official explained that even as the Philippine National Oil Company signed the agreement with its counterparts in China and Vietnam, the JMSU was internally discussed by an interagency team that includes officials from the DFA, National Security Council, Department of Energy, and the Department of Justice.

The JMSU was signed by the national oil companies of Philippines, China, and Vietnam in September 2005 as part of the confidence-building measures of claimant countries to the Spratly islands, she said.

The diplomat recalled that the interagency teams held several meetings at the DFA to discuss the JMSU "because we were going to break new ground in regional diplomacy but we had to make sure it was aboveboard."

INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:17:00 03/19/2008

[ghosthunter]

Good observation, Cpt Obvious!!

[chilli]

This is very obvious.. In fact, with Senator Miriam's comment na nga lang na Chinese invented corruption, umalma na agad ang China dito. How much pa kaya tong issue na to di naman pwede idaan sa simpleng public apology.

[ringostarr]

bakit kaya suddenly we are the apple of the eye of china?

that only means we are emerging na as a SEA economic power

in the private sector, tigas kaka-rerecruit ng mga singaporeans sa mga skilled workers and even call centers reps natin. poor singapore, it's inevitable na, we can have 3-5 singapore city size here particularly the Fort, Reclamation, Subic and Clark.
it wont be long and all those top world brands will be transferring here.


sa HK, we have beaten the HK$ 5 is to 1 na lang

American seems to be disturbed in the exploration partnership of China and the Phils.


kung wala nga lang makikinig sa mga tiga-opposition, mas mabilis pa ito mangyari.

[Horsepower]

Big deal. Di magalit sila. They're pushing their weight around quite too much.

[oliver1013]

Medyo sensitive tong issue na to, di ako kumportable na may stranghero sa bakuran ko lalo na kung yung stranghero ay sinasabing kanya yung parte na yun ng bakuran ko...baka mamaya maglagay na sila ng warships sa paligid ng spratleys tas off limits na mga banca natin at gunboat, ano pa magagawa natin?

[b1rken5tock]

Medyo sensitive tong issue na to, di ako kumportable na may stranghero sa bakuran ko lalo na kung yung stranghero ay sinasabing kanya yung parte na yun ng bakuran ko...baka mamaya maglagay na sila ng warships sa paligid ng spratleys tas off limits na mga banca natin at gunboat, ano pa magagawa natin?

baka isang araw e magising tayo at parte na tayo ng tsina kasi malapit tayo sa Taiwan...

[vito corleone]

Medyo sensitive tong issue na to, di ako kumportable na may stranghero sa bakuran ko lalo na kung yung stranghero ay sinasabing kanya yung parte na yun ng bakuran ko...baka mamaya maglagay na sila ng warships sa paligid ng spratleys tas off limits na mga banca natin at gunboat, ano pa magagawa natin?

with that government, it's not impossible. . .i don't really trust those reds in mainland china. . .bakit ba naman kasi magsusurvey lang e dapat pang makisawsaw yang mga kapitbahay natin?. . .obviously, hindi interes ng republika ng pilipinas ang nanaig sa kasunduan na 'yan. . .buwisit!

[chilli]

Update

‘Pass baseline bill and let int’l courts rule on Spratlys’



Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines -- House Speaker Prospero Nograles said international courts should settle any conflicts arising from the passage of the baseline bill that seeks to include the disputed Spratlys Islands in the country’s territory.
When Congress resumes session in April, Nograles said the House leadership would not stop a vote on House Bill 3216, which is up for approval on third and final reading.
“If the committee chairman wants to put it to a vote, the leadership will not stop it. It is our policy here that the leadership will always support its committee chair. Kung ano gusto ng committee chairman [What the committee chairman wants], we follow,” he said at a press conference.
The committee chair, Cebu Representative Antonio Cuenco, on Tuesday said he would push for the approval of the bill despite a protest by the Chinese government. He added he was confident of the bill’s approval.
Nograles agreed the chance of the plenary’s approval on third and final reading was “very high” since the bill had been already passed second reading.
Any defects in the measure, he said, can be cured when the House and Senate come together for the bicameral conference, he added.
Besides, Nograles said the bill needs to be passed to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“What we are approving is only defining our baseline. They [other Spratlys claimants] can define their baselines also and then if there is a conflict, let the international courts settle it,” he said.
This, he said, was “why the UN asked everybody to draw their baselines and then the conflict will be resolved by an international court.”
“But if we don’t draw up our baseline, then what is the basis for settling the dispute? We draw up our baselines first. They draw their own baseline and if there is a, then settle,” Nograles said. “But if all of them draw their baselines, [and] we don’t draw our baseline, they might claim the whole Philippines. We will be on the losing end.”
The other claimants to the Spratlys are China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
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Date: March 26, 2008 16:43:00