[ad_1]
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will allow Chinese companies to participate in infrastructure projects in the Philippines even if they are blacklisted by the United States, his spokesman said Tuesday.
The US Department of Commerce announced last week that it has added 24 Chinese state-owned companies, including subsidiaries of China Communications Construction Co., to its commercial blacklist for their roles in building artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea that infringed on other nations. ‘claim (es.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte told cabinet officials that the US government can enforce its blacklists of Chinese companies on US soil, but “would not follow the directives of Americans because we are a free and independent nation and we need investors from China. “
“We are not a vassal state of any foreign power and we will pursue our national interest,” he added.
Roque was asked if the Philippine government would allow a Chinese company to continue its involvement in a planned airport project at Sangley Point in Cavite province south of Manila after press reports said it could be blacklisted by states. United.
“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, ”Roque said at an online press conference.
Duterte has been one of the most vocal critics in Asia of US security policies and has fostered closer ties with Russia and China, where he has sought more trade and investment funds and infrastructure since taking office in mid-2016. .
In July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused China of “intimidation” and announced that the US would not recognize nearly all of China’s maritime claims on areas of the South China Sea disputed by neighbors. smaller, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. . China has accused Washington of meddling in a purely Asian dispute.
The Chinese government cannot be allowed to use China Communications Construction Co. or other state-owned companies “as weapons to impose an expansionist agenda,” Pompeo said.
“The United States will act until we see Beijing discontinue its coercive behavior in the South China Sea, and we will continue to support allies and partners to resist this destabilizing activity,” he said.
Washington has no territorial claims on the disputed waterway, but has stated that the peaceful resolution of long-standing disputes and freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed region are in the national interest. (AP)
[ad_2]
