From July 25-27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid an official visit to Laos, where he also attended the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations)-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, the Republic of Korea) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, as well as holding a considerable number of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from around the world and the first trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of China, Russia and Laos.
As part of his program, on July 26, Wang Yi met with his Philippine counterpart, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo, in which meeting he warned the Philippine side over the question of US intermediate missile system deployment.
Wang said that China and the Philippines are close neighbours across the sea, and good neighbourliness, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development are in the fundamental interests of the two countries.
He noted that the positive and negative lessons of China-Philippines relations in recent years have proved time and again that it is not easy to build good relations, but it is easy to destroy them. At present, he continued, China-Philippines relations are facing serious difficulties and challenges, which are rooted in the fact that the Philippine side has repeatedly violated the consensus of the two sides and its own commitments.
He added that if the Philippines introduces the US intermediate missile system, it will create regional tension and confrontation, triggering an arms race, which is totally not in line with the interests and aspirations of the Filipino people.
Wang pointed out that China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and there is no way out of conflict and confrontation, except for dialogue and consultation. He expressed the hope that the Philippine side will seriously think about the future of China-Philippines relations and work with China to push bilateral relations back on the right track at an early date.
Manalo said that despite the difficulties and challenges faced by the two sides due to maritime issues, the Philippines is committed to easing the situation through dialogue and consultation and dealing with differences constructively. He noted that next year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China, and the Philippines is willing to strengthen communication with China in a sincere and pragmatic manner to enhance mutual trust and improve bilateral relations.
In related developments, on July 8, the International Information Office of the National Democratic Front (NDF) of the Philippines issued a statement describing the recently signed Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) as another step in US imperialism’s march towards war, adding that it, “betrays the victims of Japanese war crimes against the Filipino people during World War II and dangerously positions the country on the front lines of war. By allowing the deployment of Japanese soldiers on Philippine soil for so-called joint military exercises, the [President] Marcos Jr. and [Prime Minister] Kishida administrations are shameless puppets in the elaborate war preparations orchestrated by the US in its march toward an armed confrontation with China.
“The RAA with Japan comes at the heels of US overtures to strengthen military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region in its continuing ‘first island chain strategy’ to encircle China. The RAA with Japan allows Japanese military to freely enter and exit the Philippines for combat training including live-fire drills – akin to the lopsided Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) of the Philippines with the US government, which the latter has been using to justify its provocative sabre rattling against China.
“The Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement marks a dangerous precedent, undermining prospects for a peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts in the region while stoking the flames of war. The path to lasting peace lies not in the buildup of military personnel and materiel that serve US war designs against China.”
Further, on July 22, in a statement issued by Marco Valbuena, its Chief Information Officer, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of speaking, “from a fantasy bubble, completely detached from the realities of oppression and exploitation facing the majority of the Filipino people” in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) and ignoring and obscuring, “the stark social realities confronting millions of peasants and workers, fisherfolk, national minorities, unemployed people, urban poor, students and young people, women, and other toiling sectors.”
The CPP statement added: “Marcos falsely depicted himself as a patriot for purportedly asserting Philippine sovereignty and echoing the line ‘atin ang [we’re the] West Philippine Sea,’ blurring the fact that he has completely yielded to the dictates of his US imperialist master to turn the country into an American military base, to station their troops, preposition their weapons, and drag the country into its conflict with China.”
The following articles were originally published by the Xinhua News Agency and Philippine Revolution Web Central.
Chinese FM warns Philippines over U.S. intermediate missile system deployment
VIENTIANE, July 27 (Xinhua) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo here on Friday, warning the Philippine side over the U.S. intermediate missile system deployment.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China and the Philippines are close neighbors across the sea, and good neighborliness, mutually beneficial cooperation and common development are in the fundamental interests of the two countries.
He noted that the positive and negative lessons of China-Philippines relations in recent years have proved time and again that it is not easy to build good relations, but it is easy to destroy them.
At present, Wang said, China-Philippines relations are facing serious difficulties and challenges, which are rooted in the fact that the Philippine side has repeatedly violated the consensus of the two sides and its own commitments, continuously pushed the infringement of rights at sea and magnified the speculation of public opinion.
China is gravely concerned about and firmly opposes it, Wang said.
He added that if the Philippines introduces the U.S. intermediate missile system, it will create regional tension and confrontation, triggering an arms race, which is totally not in line with the interests and aspirations of the Filipino people.
Wang said that China has recently reached a temporary arrangement with the Philippines on the transportation and replenishment of humanitarian supplies to Ren’ai Jiao in order to maintain the stability of the maritime situation. The key is for the Philippine side to fulfill its commitments and refrain from changing its position, said the Chinese foreign minister. Otherwise, he noted, China will definitely respond resolutely.
Wang pointed out that China-Philippines relations are now at a crossroads and there is no way out of conflict and confrontation, except for dialogue and consultation.
He expressed the hope that the Philippine side will seriously think about the future of China-Philippines relations and work with China to push bilateral relations back on the right track at an early date.
Manalo, for his part, said the Philippines and China have a long history of traditional friendship and have established a comprehensive strategic cooperative relationship based on equal treatment and mutual benefit.
Despite the difficulties and challenges faced by the two sides due to maritime issues, the Philippines is committed to easing the situation through dialogue and consultation, and dealing with differences constructively, Manalo said.
He added that the recent meeting of the bilateral consultative mechanism on the South China Sea, during which both sides agreed to manage the maritime situation, reflects the goodwill of both sides without compromising on their respective positions.
The Philippines is willing to implement the consensus, Manalo said, noting that next year is the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China, and the Philippines is willing to strengthen communication with China in a sincere and pragmatic manner to enhance mutual trust and improve bilateral relations.
Japan-PH military pact is another step in US imperialism’s march towards war
July 8 (Philippine Revolution Web Central) — The recently signed Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) betrays the victims of Japanese war crimes against the Filipino people during World War II and dangerously positions the country on the front lines of war. By allowing the deployment of Japanese soldiers on Philippine soil for so-called joint military exercises, the Marcos Jr. and Kishida administrations are shameless puppets in the elaborate war preparations orchestrated by the US in its march toward an armed confrontation with China.
The RAA with Japan comes on the heels of US overtures to strengthen military alliances in the Indo-Pacific region in its continuing ‘first island chain strategy’ to encircle China. The RAA with Japan allows Japanese military to freely enter and exit the Philippines for combat training including live-fire drills – akin to the lopsided Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) of the Philippines with the US government which the latter has been using to justify its provocative saber rattling against China.
According to both parties, the so-called defense pact is meant to help the Philippines defend its territory against an increasingly assertive China. Aside from trampling on Philippine sovereignty, the RAA risks further embroiling the Philippines in the middle of a potential hot war, sacrificing Filipino lives and sovereignty on the altar of American imperialist ambitions.
The wounds of the brutal Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II run deep, marked by unspeakable atrocities and brutality against the Filipino people. Around 1,000 Filipinas, some as young as 12 years old, were enslaved and turned into ‘comfort women’ during the war. Japanese soldiers killed an estimated 527,000 Filipinos until they were driven away by the Communist Party-led Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap), ending Japan’s three-year military occupation of the country. Marcos Jr.’s military pact with Japan represents a profound betrayal of war crime victims who continue to cry for justice until today.
The Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement marks a dangerous precedent, undermining prospects for a peaceful resolution of territorial conflicts in the region while stoking the flames of war. The path to lasting peace lies not in the buildup of military personnel and materiel that serves US war designs against China.
Marcos SONA detached from concrete situation of majority of people
July 22 (Philippine Revolution Web Central) — In his third state of the nation address (SONA) today, Marcos spoke from a fantasy bubble, completely detached from the realities of oppression and exploitation facing majority of the Filipino people. He started talking about the common complaint of high food prices then, without offering concrete solutions, quickly buried the fact by turning the page and prating about his grand-sounding achievements.
Marcos ignored and obscured the stark social realities confronting millions of peasants and workers, fisherfolk, national minorities, unemployed people, urban poor, students and young people, women, and other toiling sectors.
Marcos painted a picture of an alternative reality. He deliberately downplayed the problems of soaring prices of food, services and utilities (especially the pending sharp electricity rate increases), grossly insufficient wages, acute unemployment and contractualization, how ordinary people are being robbed of their land and livelihood, and how they are being killed or imprisoned for standing up for their rights.
Marcos falsely depicted himself as a patriot for purportedly asserting Philippine sovereignty and echoing the line “atin ang West Philippine Sea,” blurring the fact that he has completely yielded to the dictates of his US imperialist master to turn the country into an American military base, to station their troops, preposition their weapons, and drag the country into its conflict with China.
Marcos spoke only to the satisfaction of big business companies, foreign capitalists, and bureaucrat capitalists. They all benefited from his corruption, from his government’s policy of all-out import liberalization, from government-guaranteed foreign-funded infrastructure projects firmly being opposed by the people (such as the Jalaur and Wawa dam), and from the policy of cheap labor and land conversion of thousands upon thousands of hectares of land to attract foreign investments.
The real state of the nation today was heard clearly in the streets outside Congress, as well as in the provinces, and migrant workers overseas. Ordinary people spoke of their daily social problems and economic plight, and how they face political repression and state terrorism.
Their clamor for wage increases, lower prices, decent jobs, free public health, free education, genuine land reform and national industrialization reverberated across the country. They expressed their collective outrage against the US-Marcos regime and their determination to fight for their national and democratic aspirations.
