BY NICK SOUDAKOFF
On July 14, Australia's Prime Minister John Howard announced a A$5 million security aid package, after meeting with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Manila.
The package, aimed at "counter-terrorism activities", includes training for Philippines police in forensics and crime scene investigation, new laboratory facilities and computer equipment to detect document fraud and an upgrade of security at Philippines ports.
This new assistance builds upon ongoing defence ties and cooperation between the Philippines and Australian governments.
The Australian government, behind the United States, is the second largest provider of defence training to the Philippines. In the 2002-03 financial year, A$4 million was spent by Canberra on defence cooperation with Manila, including the training of 120 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers.
Philippines armed forces personnel have been trained in Australia since the early 1970s. In 1995, Australia and the Philippines signed a "memorandum of understanding" to provide the basis for increased military ties.
The quota for AFP officers training in Australia has increased by 300% since 1995. According to the Philippines embassy, Australia has now replaced the USA as the main training destination for AFP officers.
Howard's visit, ostensibly to promote greater regional cooperation in the "war on terrorism", was also designed to increase investment opportunities for Australian big business, in particular, the Australian mining industry.
Ruth Pearce, Australia's ambassador to the Philippines, told a July 9 Foreign Correspondents' Association forum in Manila that a key topic Howard would raise during his visit would be encouraging more foreign investment in the "under-exploited" mining industry.
Pearce argued that Australian and Canadian mining firms, which are interested in investing in metals and resources exploration in the Philippines, have struggled to thread their way through the regulatory and legal hurdles.
Pearce cited a law suit calling on the Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional the Philippines Mining Act (1995), which would have allowed foreign companies to take a majority stake in large-scale metals exploration activities. The Court has yet to rule on the suit.
The Philippines has the world's fifth-largest known reserves of gold and copper, with large reserves in the southern island of Mindanao. However, Muslim and communist insurgencies and other "security" issues were also identified by Pearce as another big obstacle to Australian investment in the Philippines mining industry.
At the same July 14 news conference used by Howard to reveal the details of the security aid package, Arroyo announced that the Philippines government would be purchasing 25% of the coal used in its electricity production from Australian companies. The Philippine National Power Corporation will purchase 975,000 tonnes of coal a year, for the next two years, estimated to be worth $50 million.
The day before, Philippines senator Edgardo Angara criticised the fact that in all the years of trade between the Philippines and Australia, trade figures have always favoured Australia. "Australia is the chief practitioner of unfair trade in the Asia-Pacific region", Angara said in the July 13 Manila Bulletin.
In 2002, Australia shipped $596 million worth of agricultural goods into the Philippines, from live cattle to fruit juices. However, Australia only bought agricultural goods worth $35 million from the Philippines.
Angara also contested Australia's claim to be a generous giver of aid, stating that "the US$41 million given by Australia for 2003-2004 is in fact measly, and only serves as a convenient smoke-screen to its cruel trade policies". The Philippines currently has a A$1 billion trade deficit with Australia.
From Green Left Weekly, August 27, 2003.
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