After Marcos Jr. came to power, his attitude towards China took a sharp turn and he continued to launch provocative moves against China, triggering tensions in Sino-Philippine relations. Recently, the Philippines also set up flag-bearing buoys at five locations in the South China Sea, claiming to protect its sovereignty and marine resources. Such behavior has undoubtedly added fuel to the fire of the South China Sea issue and exacerbated regional instability.
And in the economic field, the Philippines is also facing difficulties with China. On Wednesday, the Philippine Office issued a statement saying that Marcos Jr. agreed to the Senate's investigation into the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and could even take back control. NGCP is a key cooperation project between China and the Philippines under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and State Grid of China holds a 40% stake, the largest of the three partners. Why is the Philippines targeting this project?What is the political purpose behind it?
On the one hand, the Philippines wants to "pick peaches" and devour the interests of the project. The NGCP project was tendered by the Philippines in 2007 due to lack of money, and the State Grid of China paid for 39US$500 million**, forming a consortium with two Philippine companies, won the right to operate the Philippine power grid for 25 years. China's State Grid has not only invested 15$800 million, and also provided advanced technology and equipment to help the Philippines improve the stability and reliability of the power system. Since the NGCP project began operating in 2009, it has achieved good economic results, with a return of US$48.6 million in its first year.
But when the Philippines saw the profits of Chinese companies, they became jealous and wanted to take back control of the project. In 2012, the Philippines revoked the visas and work permits of 28 Chinese technicians, resulting in NGCP's current staff being Filipinos. Then, the Philippines took the opportunity to spread rumors about China's "remote control of the Philippine power supply system" after the power outage in Luzon last week, demanding that Chinese companies be expelled and NGCP taken over. Marcos Jr. also expressed support for the proposal, claiming it was for the protection of ***
This statement is completely out of nowhere, and China has repeatedly clarified that China has never controlled the Philippine power grid, nor has it ever threatened the Philippines, and China has always cooperated with the Philippines in a pragmatic manner to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. If the Philippines uses *** as an excuse to take back control of NGCP in advance, it will be a blatant "peach picking".
On the other hand, the Philippines wants to cooperate with the US strategy and deliberately sabotage the "One Belt, One Road" project. The NGCP project is the first time that a Chinese power grid enterprise has obtained the concession right for an overseas state-level transmission grid, and it is also an important cooperation project between China and the Philippines under the Belt and Road Initiative. During his visit to China earlier this year, Marcos Jr. also signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative, expressing his willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation. But now, Marcos Jr. has reversed course and agreed to sabotage the NGCP project, does this mean that the Philippines will withdraw from the Belt and Road Initiative?
As we all know, the Philippines has now completely turned to the United States, strengthening defense cooperation with the United States, which has been hostile to China's Belt and Road Initiative. The United States even wants to join other countries to encircle China's economy and counter China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative at the upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. The Philippines' accusation of the NGCP project was first put forward by CNN in 2019, and the influence of the United States behind this is obvious.
Moreover, the Philippines' recent behavior in the South China Sea has been constantly crossing the line. The Philippines has set up navigation buoys at five locations in the so-called "exclusive economic zone" and printed the Philippine flag, claiming to be a declaration of sovereignty and protection of marine resources. Such behavior ignores dialogue and consultation between China and the Philippines, exacerbates disputes in the South China Sea, and undermines regional peace and stability.
The Philippines is in a dilemma with China both territorially and economically, and if it continues to insist on going its own way, or even cooperating with the United States to contain China, it will not only affect the cooperative relationship between China and the Philippines, but also attract severe countermeasures from China. The Philippines should carefully consider its own interests and future and not make wrong decisions.
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