From Davos to Boao

I was just at the right place at the right time when I was invited to a dinner reception hosted by the Chinese Embassy for top officials from the Office of the Press Secretary led by presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye. It was held at the residence of the ambassador in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City last Monday night. With the usual diplomatic opening statements from both sides, the cat was let out of the bag. President Arroyo is set to fly to Boao in Hainan, China to attend the annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) on April 19-21.

It will be Mrs. Arroyo’s second foreign trip this year after her attendance in the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 24-28. The planned presidential state visits for the first quarter this year to India, New Zealand and Australia, I gathered, were being moved back to later dates, after the May 14 elections in the country.

Bunye’s disclosure about the forthcoming trip of the President to Boao came as a confirmation to the welcome remarks of Chinese Ambassador Li Jinjun who told them that they are looking forward to the projected visit again by the Philippine leader. The Chinese envoy was obviously delighted by this official confirmation from the Palace official on the attendance of President Arroyo for next month’s BFA Conference.

Leaders and former leaders from 26 countries in Asia, including Australia, attend this yearly conference of BFA. As conceptualized, the BFA was envisioned to symbolize Asia’s prosperity, stability and harmony when this was first convened on Feb. 27, 2001. Former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) is among the brains behind the BFA that came into being several years after East Asia suffered the financial crisis in 1997.

Jiang Zemin, who was the president of the People’s Republic of China during that time, attended the maiden conference of the BFA. In his opening speech, the Chinese President described the founding of the BFA as a "grand moment" for Asia. Jiang believed that the BFA would be a useful forum to complement inter-governmental cooperation organizations such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In recognition of his pioneering efforts that led to the formation of the BFA, FVR was elected as its president. During my recent visit at his presidential museum cum library in Makati, FVR was telling me he initially refused his election as BFA president. But he told me he was prevailed upon by ex-President Jiang, his singing buddy, to accept this post. One of my most memorable coverages during the term of FVR was the Manila Bay cruise on board the presidential yacht BRP "Ang Pangulo." It was during the state visit of Jiang right after the latter attended the APEC Leaders’ Summit held in Manila that year. The two leaders let the presidential hair down and sang their hearts out to our delight.

With obvious deep influence of FVR, BFA’s theme during its first conference in April 2004 was "Asia Seeking for Win-win — An Asia Open to the World." I have always associated with FVR this "win-win" phrase which was among his favorite buzzwords during his presidency. That is why I was not surprised that in the succeeding BFA Conferences, FVR’s "win-win" theme became its annual battlecry. Last year’s BFA conference theme remained "Asia Striving for Win-win Situation — the New Role of Asia."

Mrs. Arroyo’s acceptance of the invitation to attend this year’s BFA conference appears as a strong indication that all is well between her and FVR despite the political intramurals between the administration parties. The national leaders of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), where FVR is the chairman emeritus, have been at loggerheads with Mrs. Arroyo’s Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (KAMPI). If it is any positive thing in this development, it is the fact that both the President and FVR are more preoccupied with global matters, not parochial issues that directly affect our country and our people.

As far as the Chinese Embassy was concerned, Mrs. Arroyo’s acceptance to attend this year’s BFA Conference is enough source of their enthusiasm to further enhance existing RP-China bilateral relations. In fact, ambassador Li informed me that they are currently negotiating with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for their planned purchase of at least a two-hectare lot where they can construct their new Chancery somewhere in Metro Manila. Initially, Ambassador Li bared they received a formal offer from the Ayala Land Inc. for a possible site of their new Chancery at the Global City in Taguig. He said they are also considering as possible location a property at the reclamation area in Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City, beside the Mall of Asia.

At present, some of the offices for the Embassy are housed in the official residence of the Chinese ambassador in Dasmariñas Village while the consular and other services are in Forbes also in Makati. Ambassador Li pointed out that under Philippine laws and that of China, foreign ownership of land is limited to leasing for a number of years. So even if the owner wants to sell the real estate property here to them, they could not do so. Nonetheless, the Chinese ambassador hopes to find a solution to this problem to enable them within this year to start the construction of their new Chancery. In light banter, I suggested to them the FVR "win-win" formula by amending the Constitution.

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