Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has completed a tour of four Southeast Asian nations with a final stop in the Philippines. Minister Wang met with his counterpart Teodoro Locsin and with President Rodrigo Duterte, arranging support for several new projects in Duterte’s “Build Build Build” program. In addition to arranging for half a million doses of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac beginning next month, he pledged $1.34 billion in loans for infrastructure projects and $77 million (500 million yuan) in grants. “As a friend of the Philippines and your closest neighbor, we will firmly stand with the people of the Philippines until the defeat of this virus,” Wang said.
Although the South China Morning Post and other press accounts say that China is worried about Philippine-U.S. relations improving when Biden steps in, which may have some truth to it, it should be remembered that Duterte despised Obama, who denounced Duterte’s efforts to stop the disastrous drug epidemic in the country as a “human rights violation,” and made other demands. On the other hand, Duterte appreciated President Donald Trump’s support and respect for sovereignty.
The infrastructure projects include a $940 million loan for a 71km cargo railway linking the two former U.S. military bases that have been converted to civilian and commercial use – Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Clark International Airport – to “improve logistics efficiency, reduce transport costs and support the potential demand for freight services and economic activities in the region”, a statement by the Chinese Embassy in Manila said. China also signed a $400 loan agreement for a 3.86km bridge to link Davao City and Samal island in Mindanao, a tourism site.
