Remember when the Philippines and China were enemies? Or at the very least, at odds over China’s claim to islands in the South China Sea? Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte used to be wary of Xi Jinping, China’s Communist Party boss, and president. That was so long ago, like pre-2016. Two years later, Manila is ready to be a China province, as Duterte joked earlier this year. Kidding aside, a new oil deal between the two is sure to set the table for better relations going forward.
Oil may be to blame for wars around the Middle East. But oil deals between two nations is one of the best ways to secure peace.
Both sides got that deal on Tuesday.
The joint oil and gas exploration agreement was one of 29 deals inked Tuesday during Xi’s two-day state visit to Manila. It came at a time of tensions ratcheted up further by Vice President Mike Pence during the APEC Summit this weekend which saw the Veep basically boxing Trump into a corner on China. Anyone hoping for a rapprochement with Xi at next week’s G20 meeting in Argentina is in for a rude awakening, if Pence’s hard line at APEC is any guide.