THE PHILIPPINES’ FORUM FOR INTERNATIONAL READERS SINCE 1981
July 24-August 6, 2016 Vol. XXXIV No. 21
OUT SOON!
www.expatphilippines.ph
Newspaper
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jinhua greets President Rodrigo Duterte during a courtesy call at the Malacañang Palace, as Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay looks on. Photo courtesy of the Presidential Photographer's Division
More questions follow South China Sea arbitral ruling By TIMOTHY JAY IBAY
T
he painted faces, vibrant balloons, and whooping cheers have gone; and the overall celebratory vibe following the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruling that China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea was short lived to say to least. China has long said that it will not honor any decision made by the arbitration court. And in the two weeks after the international court’s ruling, the Philippines, along with the rest of the claimants of the disputed waters are left with the same uncertainty as before the decision came out. Phl rejects Beijing talks condition According to Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay, the Philippines rejected China’s request for talks on the dispute when it asked Manila to
“disregard” the recent court ruling. “They asked us also to open ourselves for bilateral negotiations but outside of and in disregard of the arbitral ruling, so this is something that I told him was not consistent with our Constitution and our national interest,” Yasay said a week after the ruling came out. The South China Sea is a major economic waterway where an estimated US$5 trillion worth of trade moves through annually. But there are also discussions to be made on a smaller scale, particularly with how Filipino fishermen can regain access to the Scarborough Shoal. According to Yasay Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed that China would like to enter discussions on how Filipino fishermen could be given access to that area, albeit “not in
the context of the arbitral ruling.” “They said, ‘If you will insist on the ruling, discussing along those lines, then we might be headed for a confrontation,” said Yasay. “We have asked China to exercise restraint and sobriety in this regard, that we maintain the status quo for now in terms of not taking aggressive actions… not coming out with any provocative statements,” he added, while admitting that direct talks with China were unlikely to start anytime soon because of Beijing’s staunch refusal to honor the ruling. Restraint lost in translation Restraint and sobriety was far from the tune Adm. Wu Shengli carried when he said that China will not stop the page 4 ongoing construction in the
Tourism Sec bats for MICE, cooperative programs By RICHARD RAMOS
T
ourism Secretary Wanda Teo called for more efforts to attract the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Exhibitions) market to the Philippines, especially in the Visayas region, in order to corner a larger share of the events and further strengthen Cebu as a proven MICE hub in the region. Speaking during the inauguration of the International Travel Fiesta (ITF) held at the Ayala Activity Center in Cebu, the secretary pointed out that the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year with the Philippines in the midst of the historic occasion. She expressed confidence that Cebu would be more than ready to host such an event as proven by Cebu’s shining track record in housing large-scale international events as the Asian Pacific Economic Community (APEC) and the International Eucharispage 4