Politics
Duterte Defends China Loans as Critics Warn of Unfavorable Terms
- China may get Manila’s assets if debts aren’t paid, judge says
- Philippine finance agency says China loans cheaper, faster
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte
Photographer: TED ALJIBE/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is standing firm on his decision to borrow from China for infrastructure funding, despite warnings from his critics of unfavorable loan conditions.
Terms of the Chinese loans are not disadvantageous to the Philippines, Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said at a briefing Monday. It’s “not possible” for China to seize the Philippines’ natural resources because the southeast Asian nation is unlikely to default on its obligations, Panelo said.