Donald Trump’s US Department of Commerce announced last week that it will blacklist 24 Chinese companies because of their alleged participation in the construction of artificial islands nearby China-owned natural islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
The sanction includes banning these firms from doing business with American companies and American allied nations.
by Micheal John with reports from Sharon Santiago
A Philippines airport is among the projects impacted by global *QAnon-idol Donald Trump’s decisions to run roughshod over Chinese businessmen and workers.
This action against China and the Philippines is a prelude to the 2020 US Election on 3 November in favour of President Donald Trump who seeks re-election.
Recent air crashes at the Manila Airport although maybe not caused by the airport management, excessive traffic or physicality, have Filipinos thinking they need a new airport to take away the enormous amount of traffic, both cargo and passengers, that overload the Manila facility. Statistics imply the new airport is essential.
30 March 2020 (GMT +8)
The aircraft (type IAI 1124A Westwind, built in Israel, registration RP-C5880) crashed on takeoff from runway 24 and burst into flames at Manila-Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines. 2 crew, 6 passengers, no survivors.
The aircraft was conducting a medical evacuation flight to Tokyo, Japan.
Photo Credit: Source Supplied . Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine
The Sangley Airport Project, including the construction phase of the airport, is worth a starting 208.5 billion Philippines pesos (4+ billion USD).
The crucial project is intended to take some of the traffic away from what is known as the infamous “Manila (IATA: MNL, ICAO: RPLL) Entry Airport to the Philippines” but locally as the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The existing overworked airport is the main gate to the Philippines and it has endured some notable crashes of late including a medical evacuation flight to Japan at the end of March 2020 that had one Canadian aboard. All souls aboard were killed in the crash.
“The Philippines cannot afford to endure the loss of this project,” says medical traveller.
Pointing out that building a new airport will not end the spate of Philippines medical air crashes (2 in 13 months) does not seem to phase medical workers, about half a million of whom are based in the Philippines and travel all over the world as Overseas Philippines Workers (OFW) .
“Twice in my short lifetime I have lost a friend or acquaintance to an air crash and I always think I am next,” says the Filipino nurse Karinna Angeles who rises on her toes to almost 5′,1″ from 4′,9″ as she emphasizes her point.
“The [expletive] Americans are not going to cause more troubles for me and the world any more. Our President said ‘no way'”, added the agitated frontliner, who may, like many such workers be at her wits end during the recent spike in COVID-10 cases in this Southeast Asia archipelago nation.
Nevertheless, the source is corroborated by several other Filipinos FPM.news contacted for this news article. “The airport must go ahead,” is a firm consensus.
Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla whose jurisdiction includes the project, said Tuesday, “I believe that for progress and development, the Philippines deserves a new airport”.
Also the Chinese Ambassador, Huang Xilian, in a more polite vein has declared that “I believe that any attempt to undermine the normal economic cooperation between China and the Philippines will never succeed,” Huang said in a statement.
Watch new Ambassador Presents Credentials to President Duterte
But one of the Philippines policymakers who locals say is most often “under the influence of US lobbyists”, Philippines Foreign Minister Teodoro Locsin, campaigned last Friday to suspend contracts with Chinese companies that have been sanctioned by Trump’s America for their role in the development of military outposts confronting the enormous American, Australian, British and Canadian military establishment and occupation of South Asia.
Sharon Santiago reports, “people in the provinces claim that a ban on China would wipe out most dry goods in the main town stores and Sari Sari shops and as Melissa Hemingway once reported, (Duterte and China help Babies and Moms), people in the provinces would not have a chance for a normal life without the inexpensive goods they can buy imported from China and that they obtain from cooperative Chinese/Philippines manufacturing and distribution collaborations. ‘If America stops us from trading with China, and this pandemic continues, we are screwed as a country,’ is what people in the provinces are telling me.”
“Single moms with one or more kids own poverty in the Philippines. They define poverty. But thanks to China, babies have comfy rompers, functional strollers & nice colorful towels,” reported Melissa Hemingway in FPM.news December 2018.
A bustling overcrowded street in Ifugao province. Photo Credit: Melissa Hemingway, Feminine Perspective Magazine.
“Single moms with one or more kids own poverty in the Philippines. They define poverty. But thanks to China, babies have comfy rompers, functional strollers & nice colorful towels,” reported Melissa Hemingway in FPM.news December 2018.
Duterte via Spokesperson says ‘we continue’ but local Filipinos say, “Who knows what is next in the year of calamity”.
The players in this project are, China Communications Construction Company, subsidiary China Airport Construction Corporation, plus the Philippines partner firm of billionaire Lucio Tan called MacroAsia Corporation.
Mr. Tan also owns Philippines flag carrier PAL which has an extraordinarily good reputation despite the airport it operates from not looking so good.
The Philippine company MacroAsia and the China state-owned China Airport Construction Corporation, created the massive infrastructure project as part of a long promised (by Xi Jinping) infrastructure-development effort for the Philippines with the significant help of neighbouring China.
“Needless to say, the US military in the Philippines, besides spreading its ‘G’ strain of the coronavirus in the Philippines Archipelago , has been trying to influence Philippines policymakers to shut down the project,” reports Santiago.
“I will be categorical, the Sangley project will continue. All other projects involving Chinese companies that are banned in the United States can continue in the Philippines, “ said presidential spokesman Harry Roque today to the public.
The spokesperson added a few perhaps sarcastic words explaining that the Philippines is no longer a colony of the United States and is under self rule.
“Then there’s the human level of consideration to the China – Philippines relationship nobody should overlook,” says local nurse.
Visiting a remote class 4 city in the northern Philippines, Melissa Hemingway wrote in late 2018 about the Philippines/China relationship at the impoverished human level.
Her toddler I noticed was wearing a starchy-clean but sun-faded suspender romper and a pretty flowered “T”. Clothing here is hand-washed and hung in the sun to dry.
The little one was spotless, her hair cut nicely and well groomed. She wore plastic flip-flops on her feet. They are 20 peso “Slippers made in China”. Adorable child–adorable and admirable mom.
I was beginning to see the retail beauty of the rows of bamboo poles strung with brightly coloredflip-flops, dry goods, toys and haberdashery, all from China, and very functional yet affordable. This is what made up the merchant stalls along the road sides.
*Qanon definition
According to Wikipedia, “QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory alleging a secret plot by a supposed “deep state” against President Donald Trump and his supporters. The theory began with an October 2017 post on the anonymous imageboard 4chan by “Q”, who was presumably an American individual, but probably became a group of people. Q claimed to have access to classified information involving the Trump administration and its opponents in the United States. NBC News found that three people took the original Q post and expanded it across multiple media platforms to build internet followings for profit. QAnon was preceded by several similar anonymous 4chan posters, such as FBIAnon, HLIAnon, CIAAnon, and WH Insider Anon.”