Duterte’s genial tone on the South China Sea is just one of many signs of warmer Sino-Asean ties
Zhou Bo says there has never been Asean solidarity against China on maritime disputes, and the only threat to the current atmosphere of bonhomie could be US actions
The USS Decatur’s sailing into waters around the Xisha, or Paracel, Islands on October 21 looks like a frustrated US eager to make a comeback amid China and the Philippines’ recent rapprochement. Illustration: Craig Stephens
Rodrigo Duterte is a godsend to China. The Philippine president’s description of the international tribunal’s verdict on maritime features in the South China Sea as “a piece of paper with four corners” could not sound more similar to former Chinese state councillor Dai Bingguo’s (戴秉國) early description of the verdict, as “a piece of waste paper”.
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For his first official visit abroad, Duterte chose Beijing, and reportedly harvested not only contracts worth US$9 billion in soft loans and US$15 billion in economic deals, but also an agreement from China to allow Filipinos to fish again near Huangyan Island, or Scarborough Shoal. What else can he achieve?
Filipino fishermen bring their catch ashore, after returning from an expedition in the disputed South China Sea, in the town of Subic, Zambales province, on November 1. Photo: EPA
In a way, a man like Duterte was bound to emerge. His predecessor, Benigno Aquino, drove the Sino-Philippine relationship into a dead end. So, all Duterte needs to do is walk in the opposite direction.
Similar things are happening with some other claimants from Asean. Vietnam allowed three Chinese warships to visit Cam Ranh Bay in October. During his visit to Beijing in early November, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak described the South China Sea issue as an issue among friends.
If that sounds diplomatic, his announcement that Malaysia would buy China-built littoral mission ships certainly speaks volumes about what Malaysia really thinks of China. No country would buy weapons from a potential enemy and, likewise, no country would sell weapons to a potential enemy.
President Xi Jinping greets Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak ahead of their meeting in Beijing on November 3. Najib became the third Southeast Asian leader after those of the Philippines and Vietnam to travel to Beijing. Photo: AP
