Welcome to the Global Governance Perspective, a podcast presented by the Global Governance Institution. I am retired Captain Andy TIAN, the Founder and President of the Global Governance Institution. In this episode, we will share the second part GGI webinar on China-Philippines maritime economic cooperation forum.
Co-Chair/Moderator:
Prof. Anna Malindog-Uy, Vice President for Externals, Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI).
Mr. Dai Fan, Director for Philippines Studies, Jinan University.
Andy TIAN (Speaker of Welcome Address), Founder and President of Global Governance Institution.
Panel of Speakers:
Mr. Herman “Ka-Mentong” Tiu Laurel, President, Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI).
Dr. Yan YAN, Director of the Research Center of Oceans Law and Policy in the National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS).
Prof. Bobby Tuazon, Director, Policy Studies Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) & Former Chairman, Political Science Program, UP Manila
Dr. MING Junchao, research fellow feom South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute (SCSFRI) of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS).
Mr. Adolfo “Ka-Ado” Paglinawan, Vice President for Internals, Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute (ACPSSI)
Dr. ZHU Xuan, Distinguished Fellow of GGI.
As the second largest archipelagic country in the world, the Philippines is rich in marine resources, but its potential for marine economic development has yet to be fully achieved. Since the Duterte administration, the country has created a favorable environment for international cooperation on key issues to both themselves and the South China Sea (SCS) region. In addition, Duterte’s China-friendly stance has set the stage for mending ties that have been frayed by a festering maritime sovereignty dispute, providing opportunities for maritime economic development of both countries.
In recent years, with the joint efforts of China and the Philippines, the two countries have significantly improved bilateral relations and maintained a strong cooperation in trade and investment. For example, China has become the Philippines' top trading partner, top source of imports, third largest export destination and second largest source of foreign investment.
Following Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s triumph in Philippines’ presidential election on May 9 2022, the newly elected president Marcos has publicly announced that he will succeed the Duterte government’s legacy. Thus, cooperation will remain as the mainstream of ongoing China-Philippine ties, and the economic cooperation and trade between the two countries are expected to grow.
However, due to disagreement in handling sovereignty disputes, some maritime cooperation between China and Philippine, in particular fishery cooperation is in stand-off in the past. Only after Duterte came to power has the Philippines started to pay attention to fishery economies by launching a comprehensive fisheries development plan and actively engaging itself in . In this regard, China-Philippines fisheries cooperation has good prospects.
Given that Marcos continues Duterte's friendly attitude toward China, it is worth considering how to face the current challenges and take full advantage of the potential of Sino-Philippine fisheries cooperation. Marine environmental protection is another essential part of maritime economic cooperation that cannot be neglected. Hence, how to strengthen cooperation mechanism for marine environmental protection has become an urgent task for both China and the Philippines.
In addition to trade and economic cooperation, maritime law enforcement cooperation is another key to regional and global maritime governance. Maritime law enforcement cooperation is of extreme value for both countries to ensure maritime security, facilitate freedom of commerce, protect the resources of the ocean, and advance prosperity.
In 2016, despite the decision of the Arbitral Tribunal Ruling on SCS, both China and the Philippines agreed to leave aside the maritime dispute and focused on strengthening economic developmet over the ocean. The MoU was signed between the China Coast Guard and the Philippine Coast Guard on the Establishment of the Joint Commission on Maritime Police Cooperation. Since then, the China-Philippine maritime law enforcement cooperation has achieved pragmatic outcomes, but there is still room for improvement.
In this regard, together with ACPSSI and The Manila Time, the Global Governance Institution (GGI) host a webinar event on August 20, 2022 to invite experts from both China and the Philippines to discuss the current status of bilateral cooperation between China and the Philippines in the fields of marine environmental protection, maritime law enforcement cooperation, and maritime fisheries cooperation.
