Philippine protesters hold anti-US placards during a rally in front of the military headquarters in Quezon City, suburban Manila on February 2, 2023, during US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's visit to the Philippines. The two countries announced a deal on February 2 that will give US troops access to another four bases in the Southeast Asian country. Photo: AFP

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Friday refuted some Americans' discrediting of China-Philippines economic cooperation, saying that such remarks show total ignorance of China-Philippines helping each other in developing their economies, and that US officials' claims of creating economic opportunities and jobs through military cooperation is tantamount to quenching thirst with poison and gouging flesh to heal wounds.

The Chinese Embassy issued the statement in response to US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's claim that the four additional military sites in the Philippines, which US forces will have access to under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), would not only help address security concerns in the region but also bring "economic opportunities, jobs" to their host communities. 

Nuland visited the Philippines and met with the Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on March 6. During the visit, the US official also questioned whether China's promises have actually been converted to jobs for the Philippine people. 

Nuland's remarks are the US' latest bid to sow discord in China-Philippines relations, as it has been busy hyping the frictions between the two countries over the South China Sea recently. Analysts said that the US' provocation will not affect China-Philippines cooperation.

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said in the Friday statement that China and the Philippines are natural partners. In recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China and the Philippines have deepened the synergy between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the Philippines' "Build, Build, Build" and "Build Better More" Programs.

The embassy listed some major government cooperation projects between the two countries, including the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge, Davao-Samal Bridge and Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, which have brought tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Creating economic opportunities and jobs through military cooperation will seriously endanger regional peace and stability, drag the Philippines into the abyss of geopolitical strife and damage its economic development at the end of the day, said the statement.

"We hope that the Philippine people can tell the selfish interests and zero-sum mentality of the US to provoke a new cold war in this region. History will judge who is the reliable partner of the Philippines for mutual assistance and common development, and who is a passer-by that instigates and fans discord in this region," read the Chinese Embassy's statement. 

On February 2, the US and the Philippines announced a deal that gives US troops access to four more bases in the Southeast Asian country.

It is the US' old trick of smearing China-Philippines cooperation and hyping the China threat concept, especially on the South China Sea, in an attempt to fool the Philippines, sow discord and sabotage China-Philippines relations. However, no matter how hard it tries to tout the military "benefits" to the Philippines, it cannot hide the benefits of China-Philippines relations, Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times.  

The Philippines has more need for bread and butter than for cannons and American troops. The newly added military bases may bring jobs to a small number of people near them, but the major projects between China and the Philippines and bilateral relations have and will benefit the whole country, Chen said. 

After the announcement of the US' access to new military bases, people in the Philippines organized protests in many cities, including Manila and Quezon City. 

The China-Philippines cooperation will help the Philippines get through bottlenecks in economic development and agriculture, and the vast Chinese market is also what it needs, said the expert.

China remains the Philippines' largest trading partner, largest source of imports, largest export destination and third largest source of foreign investment. Earlier this year, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr visited China, and the two sides signed a raft of cooperation agreements in the fields of the Belt and Road Initiative, agriculture and fisheries, finance, customs, e-commerce and tourism. 

The US boasted of the "economic benefits" that its access to the military bases would bring in order to win the Philippine people's support, while many people in the Southeast of the country see the additional access for the US troops as pernicious, said Chen. 

In response to the US' intensified incitements, analysts also called on politicians in the Philippines to remain wise and increase their vigilance for any attempt to destroy the friendship between China and the Philippines.