In the waters of Subic Bay, industrial vessels lumber alongside smaller boats taking tourists on diving and fishing trips. On one side of the bay is a massive shipyard operated by Hanjin Philippines, while on the other is a sandy beach lined with hotels.

The bay, on the western coast of Luzon – the Philippines’ largest and most populous island – has long held strategic military and commercial importance. Now, it is becoming a flashpoint in Manila’s ongoing conflict with Beijing over control of the South China Sea.

Last month, Hanjin the Philippines – a local subsidiary of South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction and a major employer in the area – announced it was pulling out of Subic Bay after declaring bankruptcy over a reported US$412 million in unpaid loans.

Within days, at least two major Chinese shipbuilders were eyeing the large plot of land currently occupied by Hanjin, which is located on part of what was the United States’ largest overseas military base before its closure in 1992.

This prompted an outcry, fuelled by the latent mistrust of China that has been felt by people in the Philippines for years. According to local polling body Social Weather Stations, net trust in China among Filipinos has been positive in only nine of the 47 surveys it has conducted on the topic between August 1994 and November.

Not only is there suspicion over the “Belt and Road Initiative”, which Beijing says will grow global trade through infrastructure investment and critics deride as debt-trap diplomacy, but there is also the problem of the South China Sea.

About 270km west of Subic Bay is Scarborough Shoal – a territory that was administered by Manila until 2012, when a stand-off over Chinese fishermen operating in the area prompted Beijing to dispatch an armada of coastguard vessels, the likes of which have enforced China’s jurisdiction over the shoal ever since.

An arbitral tribunal at The Hague subsequently ruled that the waters surrounding the shoal were a common fishing ground and censured Chinese-imposed restrictions on Filipino fishermen operating in the area.

Relations between the two countries have warmed since then, especially after President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 and announced his intention to broker a new alliance with the world’s second-largest economy, as part of his pursuit of an independent foreign policy.

This new-found friendliness, however, has stoked fears that by buying up the shipyard at Subic Bay, Chinese companies could potentially hand Beijing a military base by the back door.

On January 12, former Philippine navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama warned of as much in a Facebook post.

“Although it is a commercial shipyard, nothing can prevent the owners from making it into a de facto naval base and a maritime facility for other security purposes,” he said, adding that a Chinese takeover would be “a very significant national issue”.

Four days later, Philippine Senator Grace Poe introduced a resolution in the country’s Congress calling on the government to conduct an inquiry into the possibility of Chinese firms controlling the shipyard.

The resolution described Subic Bay as “a natural deepwater harbour that is protected from typhoons, and its sheltered port and strategic location make it one of the most important maritime facilities in the Philippines”. Any inquiry should determine “the adequacy of existing legal frameworks” regarding foreign corporations’ control of “strategic industries that could be vital to national security development and the economy”, it said.

According to Zha Daojiong, a professor at Peking University’s School of International Studies in Beijing, jitters over a Chinese presence in the bay are overblown as even if such firms do take over operations, the land will still belong to the Philippines by law. “So long as the property remains part of the existent market in the port city, it is hard to justify claims that smack of China going after the Philippines,” he said.

But for Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, a research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Fountain, this explanation is unlikely to pass muster with the Philippine public.

“Most Filipinos won’t see any distinction between this being a private or public sector matter. They would think that, if a Chinese company is occupying this place, that means the Chinese government has control of it and can do what they want there,” he said.

“Duterte will have to balance the position and historical legacy of Subic along with the sensitivity of relations with the US. If, perhaps, a Chinese consortium with deep pockets can take over and initiate some kind of mixed ownership, that could be a way forward. Duterte will have to be skilful in mitigating any possible backlash.”

The Philippines’ history of high-level corruption also has a part to play in public perceptions, said Donald Kirk, a veteran correspondent and author of Looted – The Philippines After the Bases about the country in the years since the US military’s withdrawal.

“There is a sense among people in the Philippines that the looting of the state is carried out not just by the country’s own wealthy class, but by the foreigners whom the postcolonial rulers have to call on in times of crisis,” he said.

Manila is keen to find a new owner for the 300-hectare Hanjin shipyard, which employed as many as 30,000 people at its peak, but was down to just 3,800 workers in December after more than 7,000 staff were laid off, according to a report inNikkei Asian Review .

At a workers’ housing estate to the north of the shipyard that was once planned to include as many as 2,775 dwellings, a security guard estimated that only 200 or so residents were still present as of last month.

Shay Cullen, an Irish priest who has lived in the area for about five decades and helped campaign against the US presence there, said such a drastic reduction in paid employees could undo years of work spent weaning the local economy off of military dollars and transforming it into a retail, tourist and manufacturing hub.

“We do worry that the economic development that we planned, and implemented, could be at risk,” the 75-year-old said.

“A lot of those Hanjin workers had steady jobs, so they took out loans to buy houses and cars.”

Not everyone is pessimistic about the future, however. Josito Lucov lost his job as a welder at the shipyard last year and now makes money taking paying passengers in his motorised tricycle – a type of auto rickshaw that is common in the Philippines. He still lives with his wife and two children in company housing.

While standing under a tarp shelter waiting for his next fare, Lucov said he was not worried about the shipyard’s next owner because he was happy in his new line of work. “I get to see my family more now,” he said.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

Source: msn.com

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Photo Credit:Time Magazine

State Grid Corporation of China, the technical partner of power grid operator National Grip Corp. of the Philippines, is spearheading efforts to provide solar power in Zambales that will benefit over 1,000 residents in the province.

The move came on the heels of Chinese President XI Jinping’s visit to the Philippines last year where he assured that China would continue to extend its support to the Philippines in various aspects of the business.

SGCC said that as part of improving relations between the two countries, it signed recently a memorandum of agreement with the National Electrification Administration and the Zambales II Electric Cooperative for a solar project.

Under the MOA, SGCC’s Brighten Up project will involve the installation of a solar panel system which will be turned over to Zameco II. The system will generate 76 kilowatts, which is capable of delivering power to more than 1,000 residents, including two schools with 108 students.

Through the partnership, Huawei Philippines will also donate communications equipment, providing the communities with telecommunications network coverage.

SGCC will then provide computers and school supplies for the two educational institutions covered by the agreement.

Chinese Embassy commercial counselor Jin Yuan said during the signing ceremony for the project that with the successful visit of President Xi to the Philippines in November 2018, relationships between the two nations were pushed to a higher level.

Jin said SGCC’s project was a crucial step in solidifying the good relations between the two countries and was only the beginning of more ways in which China and the Philippines could build support and enhance cooperation.

SGCC is also currently the technical partner of NGCP, where it provides assistance to the country’s transmission grid through skills development of NGCP’s engineers and providing NGCP with the latest technologies in modern transmission grid operations.

SGCC said that together with NGCP, the company would be able to reach more communities and create more opportunities to its partners not only from Zameco II but to the entire country.

Source: manilastandard.net

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THE SUBIC BAY Metropolitan Authority is looking to expand its area by about 21,000 hectares, taking in land from municipalities in Zambales and Bataan.

In a statement on Wednesday, the SBMA said these include 9,000 hectares in San Antonio; 10,000 hectares in San Marcelino; 500-600 hectares in Subic; 500 hectares in Castillejos, all in Zambales; 900 hectares in Olongapo City; as well as 505 hectares in Hermosa, Bataan.

Meanwhile, one percent of the five percent gross income tax collected in Clark and other special economic zones is remitted to the national government; one percent goes to the provincial government; one percent to municipalities or cities; and two percent to the governing bodies of the ecozones.

Source: bworldonline.com

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One of the country’s largest pyrotechnic events will be held in Pampanga this year.

SM Supermalls announced in a statement that the Philippine International Pyromusical Competition (PIPC) will be held at SM City Clark in Angeles City, Pampanga from February 23 to March 30.

For the past nine years, the PIPC has been held at SM Mall of Asia, which is built on reclaimed land in Manila Bay.

SM Supermalls said the change in PIPC’s venue to support the ongoing Manila Bay Rehabilitation Program of the government. It added that the PIPC has always complied with international standards for environment safety.

“We will seek the public’s support and understanding as we strive to still provide the same enjoyment as we have over the years,” it said in a statement.

Source: cnnphilippines.com

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SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) released Shellfish Bulletin No. 03, stating that the coastal waters of Pampanga are still positive for red tide toxins while the Bataan has already tested negative.

Red tide toxins have plagued the province of Pampanga for more than two months now and have been noted by the BFAR as still having paralytic shellfish poison beyond regulatory limit.

The bulletin stated that based on their latest laboratory results, all types of shellfish and Acetes or alamang that were gathered from the province’s waters are still not safe for human consumption due to paralytic shellfish poison.

The BFAR also stated that not all marine delicacies are affected, stating that fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption as long as they are prepared fresh and are washed thoroughly, with the internal organs removed before cooking.

The bureau, on the other hand, lifted the red tide alert on the province of Bataan as the shellfish samples that were collected from the coastal waters of Samal, Abucay, Orani, Balanga, Pilar, Orion, Limay and Mariveles were already tested negative of the toxin.

Bataan markets on Saturday have already been selling green mussels or tahong after it was lifted by the BFAR on Thursday. The bureau stated that after three consecutive weeks of sampling in the province yielded negative results for the toxin.

A report on the sale of the green mussels showed that the price of one gallon of tahong and talaba costs P100 each.

The red tide ban started on November 24 of last year and was only lifted on Thursday.

Source: news.mb.com.ph

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