The reign of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been based on a single-minded approach against the scourge of his country and its hapless citizens who are in some way or the other come to be associated with corruption and launched a ruthless crackdown on crime.

Moreoever, Duterte’s life, ever since he took over as Mayor of Davao, has been one of confronting the ills that his motherland is plagued with; it is unbelievable that almost everyone is having a ball at the cost of the nation. This is not generalizing, just trying to show the rampant hold that the prolific practice of corruption seems to have taken on the Filipinos.

The scale of the problem is so monumental that it makes common folk think that drug-running and corrupt practices are easy ways to make money and enjoy a lavish lifestyle.

The Chinese Angle

The Filipinos and the Chinese have not been friends traditionally due to various historical reasons; but, the pitch might have been queered to a certain extent by the  recent developments that have may force to lose face or pick up a row.

So far, China has only been throwing its weight around using its superior strength to do as it pleases; in so doing it has been having skirmishes with other countries in the region, harassing the workers of the other countries who were working within their territorial rights but had to leave because Chinese forces compelled them through their strong-arm tactics.

All along, the Chinese have also been strengthening artificial islands that it has created from sand and atolls; it has now developed the capability to move its military transport aircraft on these artificial islands which are looking like permanent army bases that will take over the whole South China Sea.

Due to these activities in the waters of the South China seas, there were so many disputes but

In such a backdrop comes the allegation from the President himself that China was also the reason for so much drug-running in the country; Duterte asserted that if you were looking for the peddlers of drugs, you will have to go to China because that is where they were being shielded.

 

In the recent times, Philippines is the only country who has taken a step to clarify the murky, uncertain position that is obtaining in the South China Seas; its appeal to the Permanent court of Arbitration at The Hague could not be admitted to the world court because the rules required both the litigants to be a party to the dispute there.

China was adamant that not only will it not be a party to this dispute, it will also not honor the findings of any arbitration proceedings that any international body may take up. Even now, when the question of talks regarding the judgement comes up, the Chinese stand is that, if Manila wants to talk about solving the territorial dispute, it will have to keep the ITLOS judgement aside.

The bickering is a regular affair since the International Arbitral Tribunal nullified China’s claims in the areas that were under dispute and giving the rights to the Filipinos on some areas that were rightfully theirs. The claims of the Filipinos on some areas were also not agreed to on technical grounds.

The remarks alleging the Chinese shielding of the drug lords was made at a meeting that he had with the soldiers of the Army and the police while he was visiting several military camps on his routine tours.

Duterte, however, did not name any drug lords who had a safe haven in China; when attempts were made by reporters to contact the spokesman of the Chinese Embassy, the spokesman was not available to put forth his comments about the allegations.

In fact, these allegations have been made by Duterte for a long time that China was the conduit through which drugs made their way into Philippines and that most of those who were running the show were predominantly Chinese.

However, this time around, China has been clearly named as the country that was providing shelter for the culprits who were distributing drugs to their countrymen.

The atmosphere in the country is one of violence and uncertainty since more than 300 people have reportedly been slain since Duterte took oath on 30^th June, the reason is simple, Duterte has given a call for killing all those who are suspected or known to be involved in the running of drugs.

Moreover, the version of the police and other security forces is always that the killings were in self-defense; the version and the figures quoted by the human rights groups and media men are quite alarming with allegations of the killings being predominantly extra judicial.

It is also a bit surprising that such a statement has been attributed to Duterte whose drive against drugs had received the support of the Chinese Embassy in Manila; the Chinese Ambassador had stated that the Chinese were willing to lend a helping hand to the Filipinos and would like to chalk out a plan of action to wipe out the menace posed by the drugs.

China has traditionally been ruthless against drug peddlers and many people have been executed on account of smuggling drugs; quite a few of them are Filipinos who were found guilty of smuggling drugs and narcotics into China.

A Joint Plan?

Some observers are of the opinion that working together on some common problems that the two countries face, might be the biggest chance to come together and then develop closer relations with each other; once a certain camaraderie has been developed and some confidence is built, it should not be difficult to become friends.

One promise of the former Mayor of Davao to eradicate corruption from Philippines within a period of three months has lifted him from a candidate for the post of President to the candidate and he won the elections hands down.

But, not everything is lost as far as the relationship with China is concerned; for the moment, it is blow hot and blow cold from both sides; under this backdrop Duterte has made an announcement that, to carry the talks forward, Fidel Ramos, his special envoy, will shortly be going to China to discuss the dispute in the South China Seas.

Umrao Singh                                                    umraoz.wordpress.com

 

Written for:  Lars-Magnus Carlsson                             www.thephilippinepride.com

 

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