'Painting the sky red'

Despite strained relations between the Philippines and China over the disputed islands, atolls, reefs and shoals in the Spratlys, it was a welcome relief that trade and economic activities and people-to-people relations of the two feuding neighboring countries remained buoyant. Admittedly not at normal level, our deeply rooted bilateral ties though with China have served as strong anchor while both sides try to work out differences over this pestering territorial dispute.

At least, this was the impression generated by the formal launching of the inaugural flights of AirAsia Philippines to Macau and Hong Kong via Clark. AirAsia is the newest budget airline to operate at the Clark International Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga. We were among those invited to join the inaugural flight last Thursday.

Although both Hong Kong and Macau are autonomous parts of China, this could be construed as a positive development. Only recently, misplaced fears and apprehensions prevented Chinese travelers from going to Manila, lest they might be physically harmed here. This was after a noisy few and self-anointed patriots hogged media in Manila and Beijing when they rallied against China as “bully” and urged other Filipinos to join their protest actions in front of the Chinese embassy here and elsewhere in the world.

So it’s not helping us any if media add fuel to this already fired-up situation. It’s not only in media but this is also picked up quickly in Chinese social networking sites. That was why a significant number of tourists from China cancelled their booked flights and trips to Boracay. This was during the height of renewed tension in faraway Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc that China also claims as part of its territories in South China Sea. 

Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in Zambales. The Philippines claims ownership of the shoal by virtue of the 200-mile exclusive economic zone under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China, on the other hand, claims that ancient Chinese maps prove its ownership of these shoals in the South China Sea. 

 Manila and Beijing are signatories of UNCLOS and both support peaceful means to resolve the dispute despite reported incidents of Chinese ships going after Filipino vessels and fishermen.

While we are quarrelling over the overlapping territorial areas in the South China Sea that connect us to each other, the air space is fortunately conflict-free. In fact, it keeps everybody busy and is commercially enjoyed by a thriving airline business in this part of the world. 

 This we saw at the sendoff program of AirAsia’s maiden flights to two key destinations in China held at the passenger terminal of the Clark International Airport. Naturally, it had a Chinese theme and almost everything was done in red. 

Former TV host Maan Hontiveros, now chief executive officer of AirAsia Inc., in red attire, aptly described how they intend to conduct their airline business. In her short spiel at the sendoff program, Maan raved: “We will let the world know this new airline will paint the sky red!”

It was obviously a spin from the idiomatic expression “paint the town red” which means to celebrate flamboyantly and publicly, especially to go on a wild spree, partying, or activity in a spirit of giddy jubilation. So why red? It’s a happy color, denoting vitality and excitement, and bordering on danger!

Maan is just being literal about it. Because in fact, AirAsia boasts of its fleet of newest Airbus 320s – all with red-painted bodies against white background. The cabin crew and ground personnel stand out in AirAsia’s red uniform.

All things considered, Maan noted, AirAsia has been doing good since it started commercial operations at Clark last February. Although a budget fare airline, Maan is confident that they would not end up in the red in their first year of operations in the Philippines.

More than the prospects of this joint venture airline business growing bigger, AirAsia being allowed flights to Hong Kong and Macau could be a strong signal from Beijing. By any stretch of the imagination, this could be a sign of Beijing’s desire to keep channels open despite strained relations with the Philippines.

 Incidentally, at the AirAsia sendoff program at Clark, a young Filipino singer sang his wish to bring back everyone to sober discussion of the prevailing irritants that threaten the long-standing friendship between the two good neighbors. Through music, 21-year-old Paul John Peña sang the Chinese pop song “Peng You (Friend).”

 It was only when he sang its Tagalog version that I came to understand and appreciate its message. The song “Peng You” goes this way, with its Tagalog translation:

I.

Zhe xie nian yi ge ren

Feng ye guo yu ye zou

You guo lei you guo cuo

Hai ji den jan chi shen mi

Zhen ai guo cai hui dong

Hui ji mo hui hui shuo

Zhong you meng zhong you ni

Zai xin zhong

CHORUS

Peng you yi sheng yi qi zou

Na xie ri zi bu zai you

Yi ju hua yi bei zi

Yi sheng qing yi bei jiu

Peng you bu ceng gu dan guo

Yi sheng peng you ni hui dong

Hai you shang hai you tong

Hai yao zou hai you wo

II.

Sa lahat ng luha

Lagi kang may kasama

Sa gitna ng ulan

Karamay mo ako kaibigan

Sa tatahakin mong daan

Di kita iiwan

Di ka na mag-iisa kaibigan

 CHORUS

Peng you yi sheng yi qui zou

Na xie ri zi bu zai you

Ating pagkakaibigan di magbabago kailanman

Peng you bu ceng gu dan guo

Yi sheng peng you ni huo dong

Kahit na magkalayo dito ka sa ‘king puso.

I would later learn from Peña that he studied the Chinese language at the Confucius Center in Angeles University Foundation. It’s hard enough to speak Chinese but he sang as if he is one.

The young man told me he chose to sing this on this occasion as a timely reminder that China and the Philippines remain good friends in this part of the world. By painting the sky red, AirAsia is helping bridge the gap between the two estranged neighbors.