On this episode of China Uncensored,
the Chinese regime promised the Philippines
that they’d totally give them billions of dollars.
How’d that turn out?
Hi, Welcome back to China Uncensored.
I’m your host, Chris Chappell.
Rodrigo Duterte.
President of the Philippines,
and Vladimir Putin wannabe.
When he ran for office,
he was so outspoken against China’s
territorial claims in the South China Sea,
that he pledged to stop them with a move
even Putin would have admired:
He promised to ride a jetski to disputed islands
and plant the Philippines’ flag.
Of course it would have really impressed Putin if Duterte
had pledged to ride the jetski while shirtless.
And on a horse.
But after taking office in mid-2016,
Duterte did a full 180, but not on a jetski.
In fact, he put that jetski back in the shed to gather dust.
In Duterte’s first official meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
he didn’t even bring up the territorial disputes—
even though an international court had just ruled in the Philippines’ favor.
Duterte even turned his back on long-time ally the United States
as he jumped into Xi Jinping’s loving arms.
“‘I announce my separation from the United States,’
those are the words of Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing on Thursday,
capping off a trip to China where he’s won a whopping
13 billion dollars in business deals.”
Duterte saw Chinese investment as key
to his “Build, Build, Build” strategy.
He wants to usher in a golden age of infrastructure development
through a six-year, 180 billion dollar spending spree.
And when the dust settled from Duterte’s charm offensive in Beijing,
China pledged to provide the Philippines with 24 billion dollars.
That would include 15 billion in foreign direct investment,
plus 9 billion dollars in aid.
That aid alone would be 20 times more than what
the Philippines got from the United States in 2016.
So, sure the US has been an ally of the Philippines for decades,
but, I mean...billions of dollars?
For billions of dollars,
who wouldn’t cuddle up with China?
But you know what?
Sometimes, China can be so forgetful!
See, when the South China Morning Post did a spot check
on China’s investment commitments earlier this month,
they asked,
“What happened to the billions China pledged the Philippines?”
And it turns out the answer is…not a whole lot.
Of its 24 billion dollar pledge, China so far has made good on
only one billion worth of Foreign Direct Investment.
Add to that just a single finalized loan agreement of $73 million dollars.
And China gave the Philippines 75 million dollars in direct aid.
That was in the form of grants to build two bridges in the capital of Manila.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua
was at the groundbreaking ceremony last month,
holding a golden shovel alongside other men,
also dressed inappropriately for construction.
Ambassador Zhao said that “the bridge projects will further add
strength to the ‘Build, Build, Build’ initiative of the Philippines.”
And he tried to assure everybody that “China’s loans
to finance infrastructure projects will not make the Philippines
fall into a debt trap.”
And you know what?
I believe him.
At least for now.
Because for the Philippines to fall into a debt trap,
China would actually have to lend them lots of money.
And so far, that tap’s been pretty dry.
They’ve only received less than 5% of what China promised.
It’s like they ordered a hamburger,
and the waiter brought them a shriveled piece of lettuce.
Now to be fair, the holdups on the money
weren’t all from the Chinese Communist Party.
As the South China Morning Post points out,
some projects were delayed by the Philippines or cancelled.
And more may be coming soon.
Now on the one hand, the slowdown in investment
is actually good news for the Philippines.
It means they haven’t fallen into
the Chinese Communist Party’s debt trap.
Like Sri Lanka, or Pakistan, or Djibouti,
or Laos, or Cambodia, or...
well, the list goes on.
But on the other hand, in order to get the promise
of Chinese aid and investment—
even though it’s unfulfilled so far—
Duterte has already made a lot of concessions
that have angered Filipinos.
At a February meeting of the Chinese Business Club,
Duterte complained that China was pinching its pennies.
So to get China to loosen its purse strings,
he joked that China should just annex the Philippines
and turn the country into a Chinese province.
“Why are you so sparing?
If you want, just make us a province, like Fujian:
Province of Philippines, Republic of China.
Problem solved.
Everything will be for free.”
Everything will be free?
Maybe someone should tell Duterte
that’s not how communism actually works.
Now while Duterte’s joke seemed to make
the Chinese ambassador smile,
it didn’t go over so well with the citizens of the Philippines.
A few months later, banners calling the Philippines
a “province of China” started popping up on bridges in Manila.
And I’ve got to give them props.
No, I mean, Filipinos are using lots of props
to express their anger at Duterte.
The Philippines, province of China banners
are slightly more subtle
than the guy with the “China Out” hat.
Or this effigy of the president’s head tied to a makeshift train.
Which was then set on fire.
That happened on the day of Duterte’s
state of the nation address in July,
when thousands took to the streets,
and not exactly to show their support.
Meanwhile, Duterte blamed bloodsucking bureaucrats
for the lack of money for his infrastructure dream.
“Corruption is like a leech that bleeds the government of funds,
programs and infrastructure and social development projects.”
To be fair, people are angry at Duterte for a lot of things.
But among those things,
he’s blamed for making one-sided concessions to China on sovereignty,
with nothing to show for it in return.
And it’s not just Duterte’s refusal to plant his flag in the South China Sea.
Which—let’s be honest—even I’ve done that.
Duterte also proposed a highly controversial sharing deal
with China on a planned joint exploration of resources
in a part of the South China Sea that the Philippines claims.
Under the arrangement,
the Philippines would get 60% and China 40%.
But critics say this is a bad deal because
it solidifies China’s claim there.
But don’t worry!
Duterte isn’t giving up on enforcing
the Philippine’s claim to the South China Sea.
He’s fully committed to imposing it...
in the year 4001.
When he’ll ride to the Scarborough Shoal
and plant the Philippines flag...
on a space jetski.
While shirtless.
And on a horse.
A space horse.
And before you go, it’s time for me to answer another question
from a fan who supports China Uncensored
on the crowdfunding website Patreon.
David Michael White asks,
“Among your many overseas adventures,
which hotel did you like the most?”
Why, it was the Jia Jia Hotel in Taiwan!
They were super friendly and had interesting rooms,
and they were in good locations in Taipei and Tainan.
Also, I can’t say no to free breakfast!
Now on one hand, I am saying that because the Jia Jia hotel
was a sponsor of China Uncensored—
and I have a lot of love and respect for
the companies that support us.
But on the other hand, I don’t have much to compare it to.
The truth is,
I don’t usually stay in hotels while traveling.
China Uncensored doesn’t exactly have a big travel budget.
For most of our trips,
the crew and I save money by staying in people’s homes,
or in AirBNBs.
But for all the hotel owners out there watching this episode,
if you have a five-star hotel and want to sponsor our crew
next time we travel,
I’m very open to updating my answer to this question.
And for everyone else watching,
what do you think about China’s investment
commitments to the Philippines coming up short?
Leave your comments below.
Once again, I’m Chris Chappell.
See you next time.
Remember: China Uncensored is supported mainly through support from viewers like you.
If you can, check out our website, patreon.com/chinauncensored
and contribute a dollar or more per episode.
You'll get some neat perks, and maybe we'll answer your question on the next episode.