China, US, and Boracay

American, Japanese, and Australian warships arrived in the country this week. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Manila last Wednesday while the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Anzac, HMAS Success, and the Japanese destroyer JS Akizuki arrived in Subic last Thursday and Friday, respectively. Coincidentally, these visits take place during President Duterte’s official trip to China.

Recently, China’s Navy seems to have conducted a show of force. Their only aircraft carrier, Lioaning, conducted naval exercises with several support ships. The carrier group even crossed the narrow Taiwan Strait, closely watched by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry. The group kept to the western border. It seems the two superpowers are asserting themselves in the South China Sea. Thankfully, no untoward encounters have occurred. The US claims it is just assuring freedom of navigation and overflights in the region, while China sees them as “serious provocations.” Remember that, according to China, almost all of the South China Sea belongs to them and them alone.

According to the US Defense Department, China has started deploying radar-jamming equipment at Mischief Reef, China’s largest of seven artificial islands. China has always stated that the islands they reclaimed and now occupy are for civilian, peaceful use. They also claim that they will ensure safety at sea and provide search and rescue should the need arise. But there is nothing civilian about radar-jamming. It is for military use only. Mischief Reef is also within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, which China no longer seems to respect and consequently, we cannot or will not enforce.

President Duterte surely did not discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping the issues surrounding the South China Sea. Duterte was all praise upon setting foot in China. China has pledged billions of dollars in aid and investment in the areas of land reclamation, energy, agriculture, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and construction. All to fund Duterte’s “Build, build, build” flagship programs. It would be good to finally see all those billions come in in terms of big-ticket projects. At present, most of the ongoing infrastructure projects are carryovers from the past administration. The “Build, build, build” projects are impressive as they are ambitious.

But one project that is most likely not to push through is the casino in Boracay. The Palace has made it clear; no casinos on Boracay Island. I am just wondering why PAGCOR chairwoman Andrea Domingo is saying that “the president is a very intelligent and discerning person.” She is probably hoping that Duterte will still allow the building of a casino by a well-known Chinese entertainment corporation, as long as the environment is not destroyed. A provisional license was supposedly granted by PAGCOR to Galaxy Entertainment, whose executives even made a courtesy call to the president at the Palace a few months back. The proposed casino would have cost around $500 million, built on a 23-hectare piece of Boracay real estate, and provided thousands of jobs. I guess we will have to wait for another official announcement, or denial, or explanation. Perhaps it is best to proceed first with the closing and rehabilitation of Boracay, before anything else.