Noy to bring back a fat Chinese ham?

COUNTING CHICKS: We have a wise saying that we should not count the chicks until they are hatched.

Being optimistic has its merits, but Malacañang should not go overboard advertising prematurely how big is the Chinese ham that President Noynoy Aquino will bring back from Beijing.

The main line of the Palace attempt to justify the ongoing state visit of the President as guest of his Chinese counterpart President Hu Jintao is that the trip will cost the government only $590,000 (P25 million) but will reap up to $7 billion in Chinese investment.

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WORTH IT: This taxpayer thinks the Arroyo administration is overly defensive about spending public funds, however small, for the President’s foreign travels. It should not be.

Even if a state visit results in just improving relations with the host country, with a minimum of trade and investment benefits, that is enough justification for visiting a neighbor, especially a super power looming large in the North.

In state visits (as distinguished from official and working visits), cost to the visiting head of government is minimized. China the host foots the main items on the bill, including the board and lodging and local travel of the official party of President Aquino.

That explains partly the minuscule $590,000 that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said we are spending. That amount is petty cash compared to the goodwill that the neighborly visit will generate.

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EXPECTATIONS: The trade and investments from China that could follow the visit are icing on the cake, but, yes, they are important.

Trade Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio, overall program head for the business sector for the five-day visit, is understandably excited over the prospects of big ticket Chinese investments coming in.

The problem here is that, like in the 2010 election campaign, the Arroyo administration may be unduly whipping up rising expectations. Frustration and criticism may just result if the $7 billion in projected investments do not materialize soon enough.

As our elders remind us, we should not count the chicks….

And as we keep telling excitable cub reporters, until it happens, a thing has not happened.

Some so-called commitments sometimes turn out to be tentative pledges.

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SINO INTEREST: Businessmen change their minds. Panlilio said the earlier idea of allowing government-owned firm Sino Petroleum Corp. to explore for oil off Palawan would no longer push through despite its readiness to pump in an initial $1 billion.

The firm had to get the Chinese government’s permission — because of the deal’s legal and political implications — and it has not been granted.

But Panlilio said that a contract with State Grid Corp. of China had been signed. Moreover, he said, prospects are bright for another firm, China Trend Investments Ltd., to invest $1 billion in the Philippines.

He also mentioned interest of Chinese investors in putting up an industrial park, including a geothermal plant, in the Clark Free Port in Pampanga.

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DELICATE ISSUE: The proposed joint Philippines-China approach in the exploration and mining of hydrocarbons such as oil in the West Philippine Sea (aka South China Sea) is a delicate enterprise.

Under the Constitution, all lands of the public domain, including mineral and natural resources, are owned by the State. In what manner can foreigners participate in exploiting state-owned natural resources?

Section2 of Article XII (National Economy and Patrimony) provides: “The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the States. The State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter into co-production, joint venture, or production-sharing agreements with Filipino citizens, or corporations or associations at least 60 per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens.”

The same section provides: “The President may enter into agreements with foreign-owned corporations involving either technical or financial assistance for large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of minerals, petroleum and other mineral oils according to the general terms and conditions provided by law, based on real contributions to the economic growth and general welfare of the country.”

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SIEMPRE NAMAN!: On the other hand, assuming there is law and policy allowing a joint venture with foreigners, what does the law in China have to say? How do they regard such co-operation in relation to their claim over disputed areas?

The joint development of the oil fields in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea requires the fine tuning of the contract terms that could affect each participating country’s claim on oil-rich sites.

A joint enterprise agreement will not resolve the territorial disputes, but only push them to the back burner. Eventually, the countries in conflict will have to face the hard question of who has sovereign and proprietary rights over them.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the government would see to it that any agreement would serve the national interest. Siempre! It is unthinkable, and he need not say it, that deals coming out of China will go against Filipino interests.

Apparently anticipating objections, Malacañang also assured the public that joint exploration would be confined to disputed areas. This implies that sites that are clearly owned by the Philippines will be excluded from any deal.

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