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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Akbayan airs support for Locsin's call to terminate deal with Chinese companies involved in West PH Sea reclamation

Akbayan airs support for Locsin's call to terminate deal with Chinese companies involved in West PH Sea reclamation

Published Aug 31, 2020 06:05 pm

Progressive group Akbayan on Monday supported the recommendation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to terminate the contracts of Chinese companies involved in the artificial island-building in the West Philippine Sea or the South China Sea. 

In a statement, Akbayan Chair Emeritus Etta Rosales called on the Duterte administration to disclose and audit all loan agreements it entered into with the Chinese government to determine if all of these are “legitimate.”

"To fully protect our national interest, a comprehensive debt audit of all Chinese loans is necessary to determine if these loan agreements are legitimate, don't carry unjust conditionalities that could undermine our country's sovereignty, territory, economy and security, and not the result of questionable transactions," Rosales said.  

Last Friday, Locsin declared that he will strongly recommend the termination of contracts of Chinese companies involved in the dredging and reclamation in the South China Sea after the United States government imposed sanctions against 24 Chinese companies that constructed artificial islands and military outposts in the region. 

One of these companies is the China Communications Construction Co. (CCCC), which is a partner of MacroAsia Corp. that was recently awarded the initial phase of the $10-billion Sangley Point International Airport project. 

The former Akbayan Partylist representative challenged President Duterte to make public the loan contracts and other documents of the Chinese loans his government has acquired and answer the questions surrounding these agreements. 

"How many are these Chinese loans? Are they 'tied loans' in the sense that they are tied to Chinese companies, contractors, supplies, technical experts, and manpower? How many of these loans are connected to Mr. Duterte's friends and allies? Were these loans given with the condition that we will not enforce against China our victory in the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal? Are these loans in accordance with international standards?" Rosales asked. 

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