Philippines Puts Aside South China Sea Issues For China's COVID-19 Vaccine Priorities

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte contacted Chinese President Xi Jinping, asking that the Philippines be prioritized in the spread of the COVID-19 vaccine. The news was conveyed by Duterte directly to members of the Philippine parliament.

Like many other countries in the world, the Philippines is also struggling with COVID-19 which is destroying the country's economy. “Four days ago I submitted a request to Xi Jinping. Can we be the first to have it (vaccine) or can we buy it? " said Duterte, reported by SCMP, Tuesday, July 28.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines stands at 82,040, of which 1,945 have died. Meanwhile, more than 26 thousand people have managed to recover. The Philippines has the second highest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia, which touched one hundred thousand COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile, Duterte, who spoke for more than 90 minutes, asked banks and property companies to help small businesses and asked for their help to revitalize his infrastructure program which is worth up to 8 trillion Philippine pesos. He did not spell out the government's strategy to suppress transmission of the virus or to improve contact tracing.

On the occasion, Duterte said there are now 93 accredited testing laboratories. And the government will conduct 1.4 million tests on Friday, July 31. The Health Ministry bulletin shows the lab had carried out 1.14 million tests as of July 19.

He also thanked the health staff and said that the locks had prevented the COVID-19 number from increasing to 3.5 million. Meanwhile, key measures have eased, although some restrictions remain in place in Manila.

“I have to admit that our actions are far from perfect. I admit it. And there may be improvements here and there. But all of us in government, myself included, assure you that we will not stop until we get things right and better for you, "Duterte said.

Even though Duterte spoke for more than 90 minutes, the recovery steps he presented were deemed unclear. This was conveyed directly by the deputy head of research at AB Capital Securities, Lexter Azurin.

"The market hopes for a guarantee from the government that now all problems are resolved. This should dampen sentiment in our already battered local market," said Azurin.

The South China Sea Problem

Duterte insisted that he would not confront China over claims to the South China Sea. He said diplomacy was the best approach because the alternative was to go to war and he was unable to do that.

"China claims (West Philippine Sea), we claim it. China has weapons, we don't. So it's that simple. They have the weapons. So what can we do? We have to go to war. And I can't afford (weapons of war). Maybe. other presidents can. But I cannot. I am helpless and I admit it, "said Duterte.

Hours before Duterte spoke, leftist groups staged a protest at the University of the Philippines, denouncing what they said was "unrestrained fascism" and the passage of a new Anti-Terrorism Law.

One critique stated that the law was made intentionally unclear so that it could be used to crack down on all forms of dissent.