First bananas, now Sharks. The list of
casualties from China’s territorial spat with the Philippines keeps getting
longer.
Just a
month ago, news surfaced that China had been blocking the import of thousands
of boxes of Philippine-produced bananas, leaving many to spoil. Unfortunate
fruit exporters ended up taking a hit of some $33.6 million in related losses
in mid-May.
Now, a
Chinese basketball team has called off games with the Philippines, the Agence
France-Presse reports. The Shanghai Sharks—the team partially owned by native
son and basketball star Yao Ming—had been slated this month to play two games
in Manila, but the team’s vice general manager has asked for an indefinite
postponement of the games, an official with the Philippine Sports Commission
told the AFP.
The
games were organized last year by both governments as a way to promote friendly
sport exchanges between the two nations. However since April, China and the
Philippines have been embroiled in an ugly maritime standoff in the South China
Sea over a collection of rocks, reefs and islands called the Scarborough Shoal.
Both countries claim the shoal, known as Huangyan Island in Chinese, as their
territory.
Warning
signs have been percolating for some time that the fate of the so-called
“goodwill” games might be on the rocks. Earlier last month, a Sharks spokesman
said it was unclear whether the team would be able to play. “It’s not about our
decision right now,” he told Chinese state media.
Zhang
Chi, spokesman for the Shanghai Sharks, told China Real Time, “We did get the
invitation from Philippines side. But it is a short notice and there is not
enough time for the club to arrange the trip so we decide not to go.”
The
Sharks told Philippines sports officials the players’ passports weren’t ready
and therefore they couldn’t participate. A Philippines official said the
commission was “surprised” by this, given that the players had plenty of time
to prepare their papers, says AFP.
Adding
to tensions, Chinese authorities have also lately advised mainland tourists
against visiting the Philippines—though that evidently didn’t deter one
enterprising Chinese company from hosting a lottery purporting to give entrants
the chance to win a trip to Huangyan Island, in one provocative advertising
gambit. Company representatives didn’t respond to inquiries about whether or
how such a trip would be carried out.
The
South China Sea is thought to hold substantial reserves of oil and natural gas
and is variously claimed in whole or in part by Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei and
Taiwan, as well as China and the Philippines.
Te-Ping
Chen with contributions from Yang Jie.
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment