Compensating

The last time China posted a new top diplomat in Manila, he waded right into corruption scandals involving Chinese companies, and the continuing territorial dispute over the Spratlys.

Bilateral ties were subsequently strained further by the hostage crisis in Rizal Park that resulted in the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists. This was followed by several reports of Chinese military intrusions into the West Philippine Sea, and the execution of Filipino drug mules in China.

Amid all these problems, Ambassador Liu Jianchao engaged the Philippine media, played golf including with his US counterpart, and capped his stint in Manila with President Aquino’s trip to China.

Liu’s replacement, Ma Keqing, has had an easier start, having arrived in Manila as the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona got under way.

The Northrail project remains in limbo; there are more Pinoys on death row in China, mostly for drug trafficking; and Washington and Manila are discussing heightened military cooperation, making no secret that this is meant to serve as a counterweight to China’s growing military might.

But for now, Filipinos’ attention is focused on the impeachment trial, so Ambassador Ma will have breathing space, and time to learn more Tagalog words and how to play golf.

So far the Filipino phrases she has learned are those most useful in diplomacy, such as mahal kong kaibigan (my dear friend), and para sa pagkakaibigan at kooperasyon (for friendship and cooperation).

Ma explained that since the time of Premier Zhou Enlai, it has been a policy in their foreign service that all diplomats should learn the language of their host country, as a gesture of respect.

So she listens to Filipino phrases recorded on her mobile phone and practices saying them.

She is fluent in Finnish, having spent two-and-a-half years as a college student in Finland where she later served as a diplomat.

Like Liu, Ma is also fluent in English, which she learned in foreign language school in China.

And she echoes Liu in voicing her government’s position on China’s relations with the United States: “We do not take the US as an adversary… the Asia-Pacific is wide enough for both of us.”

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Beijing has often doused speculation about a looming confrontation between the two countries.

The world is watching Chinese President Hu Jintao’s heir apparent, current Vice President Xi Jinping, for signs of a hawkish shift in Beijing after the handover of power this October.

Ma, who visited our office yesterday, pointed out that Xi was recently given “a warm reception” in Washington.

When it comes to foreign relations, Ma told us, “one big advantage we have is a consistent policy despite changes in leadership… I don’t expect major changes.”

Xi, during a visit to Mexico in 2009, reportedly told overseas Chinese in an informal talk: “Some bored foreigners have nothing better to do than point their fingers at our affairs. (But) China does not, first, export revolution; second, export poverty and hunger; and third, cause unnecessary trouble for them.”

Ma stressed that the world has nothing to fear about her country’s continuing military buildup. She explained that they are simply “compensating” for the years when China’s defense capability had to take a backseat to economic development.

At one point in the mid-80s, she recalled, they had to slash the number of their troops by a million.

With economic prosperity, the initial spike in their defense spending went mostly to personnel expenditures and improving the conditions of their soldiers, she said. In recent years, they have invested heavily in military hardware, sourced overseas and also domestically.

She emphasized that China has no military bases overseas, and that it was the first among the nuclear powers to declare that it would never use its nukes first.

“I see no reason to be afraid of (China’s) military buildup,” she told us. “Our only purpose is to defend our territory and to defend our interests.”

As far as the US is concerned, she said, “we cannot afford to have a bad relationship because the two countries are major powers and we should act responsibly.”

China is aware of America’s long history of engagement in the Asia-Pacific, she said. “We hope we can work constructively to create a more stable region.”

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Ma also prefers to dwell on the positive side of Chinese relations with the Philippines. Another former Chinese ambassador to Manila, Wang Chungui, said the other day that the derailment of the Northrail project has spooked Chinese investors. But Ma hopes that by 2016, bilateral trade would double from last year’s $32.2 billion, and so would two-way tourism from the two million in 2011.

With economic prosperity comes greater capability to travel overseas. The Philippines will have to compete with its neighbors for a chunk of the vast Chinese tourist market.

Ma noted that before coming to Manila, she tried but could not find good promotional photographs of travel destinations in the Philippines, unlike Malaysia, whose tourism pitch keeps playing on Chinese TV. “I was so disappointed,” she told us.

The Philippines, she said, can join neighboring countries in putting together package tours, the way Singapore has linked up with Thailand and other neighbors. The Chinese, she explained, like to be able to tell friends that they have visited several countries in one trip.

Souvenir shops can also be set up right in tourist destinations instead of shopping malls, she said.

Like other foreigners, Ma has quickly noted that the Philippines can use better tourism infrastructure such as more hotels and transport facilities.

She also emphasized the need to protect natural attractions from destruction by tourists.

The two countries set up formal diplomatic ties only 37 years ago – “still young” and with much room to grow, Ma told us. She believes the two countries “should move forward” beyond Northrail, cooperating in other areas such as agriculture, energy and information technology.

“I see the relationship developing further between our two countries,” she told us. “My work here is to tell the truth. Only the truth.”