|
Philippines: Won’t Stop Doing Business with Chinese Firms Blacklisted by US
[BenarNews] The Philippines is not a "vassal state of any foreign power" and won’t cut business ties with Chinese firms that Washington has blacklisted for their roles in Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea, a front man for President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday.The Philippine government will work with these Chinese companies because it is in the "national interest" to complete flagship infrastructure projects in the country involving these firms, presidential front man Harry Roque said during a virtual press briefing. Both the Philippines and China are among countries with contending territorial claims in the South China Sea. "I will be categorical. [The] Sangley project will continue [and] all other projects involving Chinese companies that are banned in the U.S. can continue in the Philippines," Roque said. "We are not a vassal state of any foreign power and we will pursue our national interest." The construction of an international airport in Sangley, a project valued at U.S. $10 billion, involves the Beijing-controlled China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), one of 24 Chinese firms and individuals that were placed on a list of sanctions by the United States on Aug. 26, for what Washington said was their role in constructing artificial islands in the South China Sea. According to the Philippine government, in addition to the Sangley project, the CCCC has secured memorandums of understanding for five other local infrastructure projects in Davao, Cebu and the former Clark U.S. Air Force base north of Manila. Duterte’s decision to keep business relations intact with U.S.-blacklisted Chinese firms came after Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Friday he would "strongly recommend" that the government cut links with Chinese firms, if they were found to be linked to Beijing’s efforts to expand its military footprint in the South China Sea. Apart from the Philippines and China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan have territorial claims in the South China Sea. In July, the U.S. declared that Beijing’s claims to nearly all of the South China Sea on the basis of "historic rights" were unlawful. The Chinese firms and individuals that were blacklisted last week are involved in reclamation activities in the waterway, the U.S. said when announcing the sanctions. Posted by: trailing wife 2020-09-05 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=581572 |