TURNING the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road into a reality requires of China the role of a “Big Uncle” in the West Philippine Sea, according to Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In a speech delivered at the China-Asean Mayor’s Forum in Nanning City in Guangxi province, Arroyo said that by assuming the role of Big Uncle, China will be able to encourage cooperation especially in the disputed West Philippine Sea.
Apart from the Philippines, China shares the waters in that area with Asean countries Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
“In my humble view, the ideal approach is for China to think of itself as the Big Uncle to many nephews in the family. Both uncle and nephews have responsibilities within the family to work for harmony and the common good of the family,” Arroyo said.
The former Philippine president also said the “One Belt, One Road” initiative currently lacked feasibility studies, which will enable countries to better understand how they can contribute in creating the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Arroyo said to this end, Asean countries can “jointly seek” technical and engineering manpower to prepare these feasibility studies designed for project proposals.
She said the One Belt, One Road initiative can explore the inclusion of cities in terms of cross-border cooperation.
This means forging partnerships between cities that are near each other to connect the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
“The term cross-border cooperation should not only consider cities that share a common highway, region or mountain like Laos and Thailand but also a common sea like the Philippines,” Arroyo said.
“Bonds across the city are smaller bonds but bonds across the sea can be formed between and among our coastal communities,” she added.
In 2014 China created the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, which sealed its position as a key player in global trade. The initiative was envisioned to greatly increase trade between and among the countries, as well as make logistics and trade more affordable in the region.
The Pan-Beibu Gulf is an intersection of economic activity in south China, southwest China and Asean, as well as an important marine traffic hub connecting China with the Asean countries.
The trade corridor, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, could greatly increase trade between and among countries, as well as make logistics and trade more affordable in the region.
During the Beibu Gulf Rim Economic Cooperation Forum, Guangxi put forward the concept of a “Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation,” which extended the Beibu Gulf Rim Economic Cooperation to the adjacent Asean countries in 2006.
Image credits: AP/Aaron Favila