Herman Tiu “Mentong” Laurel, the head of the Asian Century Philippines and a long-time friend of the LaRouche Movement, posted an analysis of China’s Third Plenum and the recent effort to ease the tensions between China and the Philippines, asking if this will evolve into a restoration of the postponed development plans, originally implemented during the Duterte administration (2016-2022), and of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Mentong writes: “The past one-and-a-half years of deteriorating Philippine-China relations may have finally turned the corner and the recent ‘2nd de-escalation’ may indeed have a longer life and hopes for permanence. If that is so, then prospects of the Philippines restoring its economic future with the engine of growth of the 21st Century is restored.
“There is still a great deal of struggle to do to shake off the yoke of U.S. domination of the country but we should now begin, and the first goal after the de-escalation holds firm is the revival of the H-China Oil and Gas Joint Venture in the Reed, or Recto, Bank [in the South China Sea].
“Other vital infrastructure projects must be resumed, such as the revival of the Bicol Express [connecting Manila with the Bicol peninsula at the southern tip of Luzon] and the launching of the 1,100 Km. Mindanao Circumferential Railway. Current projects such as the Kaliwa Dam [to relieve the water shortage in Manila] should be facilitated and accelerated. These are just examples of hundreds of major infrastructure, industrial and economic projects that must be revived.”
