Palace on chances of China using vaccine to pressure Philippines: Almost nil

Malacañang on Monday downplayed concerns that China could put pressure on developing countries such as the Philippines on geopolitical issues, in exchange for the supply of vaccines against COVID-19.

In a virtual briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque responded to a paper published by Singapore-based research institute Yusof Ishak Institute that China's vaccine diplomacy may not be unconditional.

"Eh anong pressure ho ang ia-apply ng Tsina sa atin? Ang ating polisiya po ay pagkakaibigan sa lahat at wala tayong kalaban, independiyenteng panlabas na polisiya -- independent foreign policy," he said.

"And the President in fact shares many values with the leadership of China including personal friendship with President Xi, so I think the possibility of using the vaccine as pressure as far as the Philippines is concerned is almost nil," added Roque.

A paper published by the Yusok Ishak Institute says that Beijing may use its vaccine donations to advance its regional agenda on territorial matters concerning the South China Sea.

China and five other governments — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan — are embroiled in years-long disputes over the South China Sea, particularly in its southern part, called the Spratlys.

Over the years, China, which insisted on historical and indisputable claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, has expanded its presence in the waters, turning several former reefs into artificial islands with military facilities, runways and surface to air missiles.

President Rodrigo Duterte has cultivated friendly ties with China since assuming the presidency in 2016, but invoked the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling invalidating China's sweeping claim in a speech before the UN General Assembly in September.

The Philippines is looking to import three vaccines from China -- Sinovac, Sinopharm, and Cansino -- to address the spread of the disease in the country, along with vaccines developed by other countries.

According to Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, there have been no attempts of China to put pressure on the Philippines on the territorial dispute.

"What is happening is they may be trying to do this to increase their standing in the public, to win the hearts and minds of the public, [to show] that they are a friendly country, that they mean well. They want to be seen as a benign regional power and not as an aggressive or malign power," he said in the same briefing.

Sta. Romana said Beijing is looking to improve its standing in developing countries, and noted that it has low trust ratings in the Philippines.

"As you know 'yung ratings ng China, for example, in the Philippines, when it comes to trustworthiness, is quite low, and so the point of this vaccine diplomacy is, on the one hand, to make a global public good to make it available to their close friends, countries that are good to them, neighboring countries," he said.

"But whether they'll make it a condition sa geopolitics, that has not come up in a discussion and I think the Chinese are very clear that when it comes to the Philippines, we put it in separate tracks," added Sta. Romana.

The Philippine ambassador also said that should China put pressure, it "will certainly not work under this current administration." —KBK, GMA News