This was reprinted and/or republished in Xinhua, People’s
daily, Global times and many other media portal in China, and “lianhe zaobao”
from Singapore put this article in their website. Professor Lucio Pitlo III’s
analysis is attracting many interests. It coincided that Global time also published
an editorial commenting the Manila AIIB membership. Its general tune is
positive, and describes it as “the road to happiness is full of hardships”.
Why Philippine
membership of AIIB is full of twists and turns
Professor Luico
Pitlo III. January 2016.
On Dec 30, 2015, just before the deadline of
qualification as a founding member of AIIB, the Philippines hit a buzzer beater
and announced its joining. Looking back at the process of Philippines
membership of AIIB, It is really full of twists and turns. Philippines were
among the first batch of 21 countries who had the intention to become the
founding member of AIIB. However, when a big number of major western powers
joined the bank one by one, Philippines instead hung back. At the time the
public almost forgot the issue of Philippines membership, Philippines caught
the last train to the surprise of many.
Why did the Philippines “start early, finish late”? Lucio
Blanco Pitlo III, a scholar from De La Salle University Philippines, elaborates
the reasons behind.