envoy to China for trade, investment, tourism

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has picked businessman Benito Techico as his special envoy to China for trade, investments and tourism.

Marcos administered the oath of office to Techico in a ceremony held at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Tuesday, based on a video uploaded by state-run Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) on its official Facebook page.

"President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. administers the oath of office to Mr. Benito Techico as the Special Envoy of the President to the People’s Republic of China for Trade, Investment and Tourism in a ceremony at the Study Room in Malacañan Palace on Feb. 21, 2023," RTVM said.

As Marcos' special envoy to China, Techico is tasked to coordinate with government officials, business leaders and other important stakeholders to promote and improve economic cooperation between the Philippines and China, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in another Facebook post.

The PCO also shared several photos of the oath-taking ceremony.

The Office of the President (OP) said Marcos is optimistic that with Techico's appointment, the two countries' ties would improve.

"During the ceremony, the President emphasized the importance of Mr. Techico's appointment, expressing his hope that it would bring forth new opportunities for economic development, growth and most importantly, peace and stability between the Philippines and China," the OP said.

Malacañang has yet to release Techico's appointment paper.

Prior to his new position in the government, Techico served as chief executive officer and president of Philippine Blue Cross Biotech Corp. Marcos' foreign trips have so far generated a total of 116 investment projects worth PHP3.48 trillion (USD62.926 billion), with China yielding the highest investments amounting to USD24.239 billion, based on a report from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). (PNA)

OVER the years, there have been numerous incidents of harassment and intimidation by the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) against Philippine vessels, like last Dec. 17 when CCG vessel 5205 sailed dangerously close to a boat delivering food, noche buena packages and other supplies to troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

This latest incident at Ayungin Shoal where this same Chinese Coast Guard vessel 5205 shadowed and pointed a militarygrade laser at the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) patrol vessel BRP Malapascua – resulting in temporary blindness for some Philippine crew – is causing more and more Filipinos to become increasingly angry at the way the Chinese have been encroaching into our territory.

What is worse is that the Chinese are now claiming the area as theirs, with the China Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying it was the PCG vessel that did not have permission and “intruded” into the waters when in fact, Ayungin Shoal is located about 105 nautical miles off Palawan and is therefore clearly well within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines.

As Congressman Rufus Rodriguez said, “How can we intrude into our own territory?”

Members of the international

ONLY Nixon could go to China!” There goes one of the most famous proverbs in highstakes geopolitics, which, quite ironically, can be traced back to Hollywood, namely the 1991 film “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.” The logic behind the supposed “old Vulcan proverb” is pretty straightforward: Any unexpected foreign policy turnabout is most feasible under leaders with robust domestic standing.

As a relatively hawkish Republican, U.S. President Richard Nixon’s outreach toward Maoist China in the early 1970s was less vulnerable to domestic criticism than, say, by a more dovish Democratic counterpart, who would have easily been