WASHINGTON – President Marcos said yesterday that the anticipated inflow of investments from Japan and the United States due to the historic Japan-China-Korea summit will not affect Chinese investment in the Philippines.
Last Friday’s summit, hosted here by U.S. President Joe Biden and attended by Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, focused on not only defense but also economic cooperation, but did not include China’s aggression in the South China Sea. It was widely accepted as a response to
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez recently said that as a result of this event, Manila could receive at least $100 billion in investments from Washington and Tokyo within five to 10 years.
Asked at a press conference there how the outpouring of investment from the United States and Japan would affect China’s economic influence in the Philippines, Marcos said, “How are these two related? I don’t know.”
“China will continue to make whatever investments it chooses. This is separate from any planned or potential investments by China in the Philippines. How do we look at it? What impact will it have? “I don’t think it will have an impact one way or another,” he added.
Sectors expected to benefit from investment include the semiconductor industry, energy and manufacturing. Mr. Marcos expressed optimism that investments worth an estimated $100 billion from the United States and Japan would materialize.
“Given the fact that they have already committed to these investments and are actually doing so, we have together identified the areas and sectors where that investment will take place. It shows that it’s not an idea. It’s in the agreement, so we’re going to do it,” the president said.
“Therefore, I am very confident that this will all come true and all of us in the Philippines will feel this,” he added.
According to Marcos, the trilateral agreement was not born out of mere convenience or new circumstances, but was a “continuing evolution” of the Philippines’ relationship with the United States and Japan.
“And this is evidenced by the fact that a large part of the agreement is about economic proposals, economic aid and trilateral partnership. Of course, there is security and defence. “It’s not a point,” he said.
During the summit, the three countries pledged to cooperate on the Luzon Economic Corridor, which will strengthen connectivity between Subic Bay, Clark, Manila and Batangas in the Philippines. Develop critical new technologies and secure clean energy supply chains.
Marcos said the trilateral agreement was “very important” and would change regional power relations for the better. He added that the trilateral agreement would be a “huge benefit” for the Philippines, which is still struggling to fully emerge from the pandemic.
“You already know that I’m a big believer in federations and alliances. So this is a big step for the Philippines, for the United States, and for Japan. I think we’ll start to see the wisdom of that in the coming years.” “In fact, within a number of years, we will begin to see the wisdom of entering into trilateral agreements and why it is a good thing to do so,” the Chief Executive said.
Rapid increase in investment
Chairman Martin Romualdez expects a surge in investment inflows to the Philippines as the country hosts the 6th Indo-Pacific Business Forum next month.
According to Romualdez, the event is expected to create more employment and livelihood opportunities for Filipinos.
“We are confident that the 6th Indo-Pacific Business Forum will be the starting point for increasing investment inflows to the Philippines,” he said.
The situation comes as President Marcos told top US business leaders on May 21 during a keynote speech on the sidelines of the Philippines-US-Japan trilateral side at the Philippines-US Business Forum held in Washington on Friday. It developed by extending invitations to attend events in Manila. meeting.
“By bringing together key stakeholders to discuss important issues and explore opportunities for cooperation, we will drive the country’s economic growth and development to new heights and create more jobs and livelihood opportunities for our people. “We aim to do so,” he added.
The Business Forum in Manila will bring together around 500 business leaders, project developers, government officials and financial sources to focus on infrastructure, supply chain resilience, critical minerals, clean energy, digital economy and emerging They will discuss topics such as technology and inclusive trade.
Meanwhile, Sen. Immy Marcos said that while the Luzon Economic Corridor is a welcome development, he hopes Mindanao will also develop.
The investment partnership will include investments in the construction of infrastructure projects such as railways, port modernization, clean energy, semiconductor supply chains and agribusiness.
“This is a good development. This is the first time I have heard of the Luzon Corridor. But many people are asking why we are not talking about the development of Mindanao,” Marcos said in an interview with dwIZ yesterday. . — Sheila Crisostomo, Mark Jason Cayabyab
