Hostage diplomacy

Philippine and Chinese officials like to say that despite the maritime conflict between the two countries, which could take ages to resolve, there are many other aspects of bilateral ties that can be pursued and strengthened.

Among the most promising and benign aspects are “people-to-people” exchanges, such as in cultural and educational activities.

Like it or not, however, the people-to-people exchanges between the Philippines and China now seem to be heading inexorably downhill.

One example is the Philippine run of the fantasy animation movie “Ne Zha 2,” touted as China’s highest-grossing film ever following its global release this year ($2.145 billion so far in box office receipts). It was shown in Manila last month, but as far as I can tell hardly made a ripple in our country.

It must be noted that for many years now, cinemas, with their stiff rates, have been struggling to attract Filipino audiences when streaming services provide near-“unli” movies and binge-worthy TV serials (with subtitles) for a monthly fee that’s less than the cost of one theater ticket.

A colleague who watched “Ne Zha 2” also said that the tepid Pinoy response could be because the adventure film has a dark theme that is not usually associated with animation movies.

The possibility of an anti-China sentiment, of course, cannot be discounted in the Pinoy reception to the movie. Such sentiments, which are not unique to the Philippines, have stymied China’s efforts to project global soft power – something that the South Koreans have been doing almost effortlessly.

But then the Koreans are not moving aggressively for hegemony and (in the case of the Philippines) squatting in our sovereign waters.

*      *      *

Apart from cultural exchanges, tourism should be a good area for enhancing people-to-people ties. But Beijing recently issued a travel warning to its citizens about risks to their personal safety including the possibility of arrest in the Philippines.

Both the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation have stressed that Chinese citizens are arrested here only if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have violated laws, such as involvement in the criminal activities related to illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations or POGOs.

Online gaming is prohibited for all Chinese citizens wherever they may be residing on the planet. The Chinese workers in POGO hubs who were deported face criminal prosecution upon their deportation to their homeland.

What apparently rankled Beijing, however, were arrests and indictments related to espionage. Dismissed mayor Alice Guo of Bamban, Tarlac is the most high-profile person so far accused of being a sleeper spy for China.

Last January, the NBI announced the arrest of five Chinese nationals on charges of conducting aerial surveillance and reconnaissance of Philippine Navy and Philippine Coast Guard assets in Palawan using drones, long-range surveillance cameras, telescopes and communication devices.

Two of the five were arrested at the NAIA, another in Binondo and a fourth in Intramuros. The suspected field commander was arrested in Dumaguete. The NBI described the others as two intelligence agents, a financier and a member of the suspected spy ring.

The arrests were carried out about two weeks after another Chinese and two Filipinos were arrested in Manila and accused of spying for Beijing.

As for the three Filipinos detained in China, they have not been in touch with their relatives since October last year. Philippine officials say the three were apparently originally held for other offenses, which have since been amended to espionage.

The three – two men and a woman – were graduates of an education exchange program sponsored by Beijing in Hainan Normal University. The program has been in existence since 2018, under the aegis of a “sister-city” (or sister-province) arrangement between Hainan and Palawan. About 50 Filipinos, including the three, have graduated from the university under the program.

*      *      *

For several months, there was no word from the Chinese government on the fate of the three whose scholarship had been sponsored by Beijing, according to Palawan provincial board member Ryan Maminta. He said two of the three were reportedly seeking employment in Hainan while one was already working apparently in a job related to translation.

Relatives of the three finally learned that the scholars had been arrested only after Chinese state-run Global Times reported recently that the three had confessed to spying for the Philippine government.

Considering these details plus the timing of the Global Times report, the inevitable suspicion is that the arrests are nothing but retaliation on the part of Beijing.

Among the casualties will likely be all sister-province or sister-city ties between the two countries, plus all exchange programs. This week there are already calls for a review of such programs involving China.

Philippine officials don’t want to compare the case of the three Filipinos with those of the Chinese suspects in our country, pointing out that there is evidence against the Chinese arrested here on espionage charges.

It’s a safe bet though that Beijing will be presenting what it describes as evidence against the three Filipinos, who face serious penalties in case of conviction.

Philippine groups have condemned Beijing’s tack as “hostage diplomacy.”

The case is sure to further dampen interest in travel and other people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. If Beijing can arrest its own scholars in an attempt at a tit-for-tat, no Filipino is safe when visiting China. I miss visiting my maternal relatives’ homeland. But for a Chinese experience these days, I head to Taiwan.

We’ve plummeted to a new low in already much-frayed bilateral ties with Beijing. And we still haven’t hit rock bottom.