Chinese ambassador starts farewell calls

MANILA, Philippines - Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao started last Wednesday conducting farewell calls before the end of his tour of duty this month.

Liu made farewell calls at the offices of two Chinese newspapers and thanked the editors and staff for their support for him since he arrived in the Philippines in March 2009.

Chinese embassy Deputy Chief of Political Section and spokesman Ethan Sun Yi said yesterday the home office has recalled Liu and he will return to China by the end of this month.

Sun declined to comment when asked about Liu’s rumored promotion on the heels of the success of President Aquino’s state visit to China in August.

“It is a common practice after the tour to a certain country to go back to Beijing and wait for further notice, whether you are going to another country or staying in the Foreign Ministry. And that is not known yet for the ambassador,” he added.

Sun said Liu will be on a mission in Hong Kong for one week. The Hong Kong government hosts every year the ambassadors from various countries for a study tour.

“It is a different system in Hong Kong and there are lots of things to learn for Chinese diplomats... it is an exchange program for both sides for officials to learn the system,” Sun said.

Liu said China has been striving to build a harmonious “neighborhood of common prosperity” even as relations with the Philippines were marked by tensions and a dispute over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

He said Aquino’s state visit to China turned out to be successful and fruitful and serves as a milestone witnessing the flourishing strategic and cooperative relationship between the two countries, and an opportunity to advance China-Philippines friendship with greater depth and strength.

The controversies during Liu’s stay in the country include China’s execution of three Filipinos convicted of drug trafficking in March.

In June 2009, Liu started the roundtable discussion with reporters where he said the scrapping of the $329-million national broadband network project with Chinese telecommunication firm ZTE was a “learning experience” for both sides as he advised the Philippines to let other countries know what is the best way to do business and have economic cooperation in the country.

He said his diplomatic career started in the Philippines when he was involved in the planning of the visit to China of the late President Corazon Aquino in April 1988. After 20 years, Liu was given his first ambassadorial post in the Philippines.

Liu rejected any involvement and leadership role by the United States or a third party in the South China Sea claims as he warned that it might “magnify” the issue and make the dispute more complicated and difficult to settle.

He said the South China Sea issue is between China and the claimant countries to the territorial disputes in the region that include the Philippines, Vietnam, and other members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Meanwhile, the Philippines, China and Myanmar remain the largest illicit manufacturer of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), according to a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The report also noted significant increase in production of ATS in Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia. ATS is among the top three drugs of use in all 15 countries surveyed in the region.

Although the UNODC reported increase in ATS use last year, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea reported stable or declining usage of the illicit substance.

The UNODC said the rising manufacture, trafficking and use of methamphetamines in East Asia and Southeast Asia pose a growing threat to public health and security in the region, as transnational organized criminal groups become increasingly involved.

In a report UNODC also indicated that most of the methamphetamines seized in the region are also manufactured there, reflecting burgeoning production over the past five years.

“The international community has taken its eye off the ball on illicit drug production and trafficking in East Asia,” said Gary Lewis, the representative of the UNODC Regional Center for East Asia and the Pacific.

Methamphetamine trafficking by African groups has been officially reported by China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The use of crystalline methamphetamine has also expanded to countries which had not previously reported it, including Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The manufacture and use of ecstasy declined in East and Southeast Asia, a development consistent with global trends.

In January, a UNODC report said ATS, particularly methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy, are the drugs most widely abused in East and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.