by Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, 15 August 2019, Originally Posted at SCMP

“There is a time for everything. A time to negotiate and a time to quarrel with your enemy … a time to antagonise and a time to make peace and a time to go to war.” This telling rendition of the Bible verse Ecclesiastes 3 by  Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte  in his fourth State of the Nation Address last month presages the importance of his upcoming visit to Beijing.

Duterte’s fifth visit to the Chinese capital late this month comes amid growing unease in the West Philippine Sea. The massing of Chinese vessels near Pag-asa (Thitu Island), Manila’s largest occupied feature in the Spratly Islands, and the undeclared passage of Chinese survey vessels and warships in Philippine waters triggered a flurry of diplomatic protests. Manila also awaits Beijing’s actions after concluding its investigation on a June mishap at Reed Bank involving a Chinese ship that endangered 22 Filipino fishermen.

Concerns were also raised over China’s interest in developing strategic islands into gaming and economic hubs. The influx of Chinese workers in the Southeast Asian nation’s bustling online gaming industry is also generating local worries about the country being turned into China’s “sin city”.

The West Philippine Sea will loom large when Duterte meets  Chinese President Xi Jinping. Duterte has said he will raise the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral victory at The Hague, which invalidated the historical basis for China’s nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, and which China has rejected. He will also press for the early conclusion of a code of conduct in the disputed waterway, negotiated by foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, to avoid a repeat of the Reed Bank incident. Read more…