Summit deals won’t affect China investments – Marcos

WASHINGTON – The expected influx of investments from the US and Japan that stemmed from the historic trilateral summit won’t affect China’s investments in the Philippines, President Marcos said yesterday.

Last Friday’s summit, hosted by US President Joe Biden here and attended by Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, was widely perceived as a response to China’s aggression in the South China Sea, although its discussions covered not just defense but also economic cooperation.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez recently said Manila may reap at least $100 billion in investments from Washington and Tokyo in five to 10 years as a result of the event.

Asked during a press briefing here how the outpouring of investments from the US and Japan would affect China’s economic influence in the Philippines, Marcos replied, “I don’t see how the two are connected.”

“China will continue whatever investments it chooses to make. This is separate from any proposed or potential Chinese investments in the Philippines. How do I see it? How will it affect? I don’t see that it will affect, one way or the other,” he added.

The sectors that are expected to benefit from the investments include the semiconductor industry, energy and manufacturing. Marcos expressed optimism that the estimated $100 billion worth of investments from the US and Japan would materialize.

“They have already committed to these investments and the fact that they actually have, we have together identified the areas and the sectors where that investment will go to. It shows that this is not a promise, or it is not just an idea. It is something that we intend to do because it has been put into the agreement,” the President said.

“So, I am very confident that this will all materialize and all of us in the Philippines will feel this,” he added.

According to Marcos, the trilateral agreement is not something that is only about convenience or borne out of a new situation but “a continuing evolution” of the Philippines’ relationship with the US and Japan.

“And this is evidenced by the fact that a large part of the agreement is on economic proposals, and economic assistance and partnership