US, Japan mamumuhunan ng $100B sa Pinas sa susunod na 5-10 taon -Ambassador Romualdez

INAASAHAN na magbubuhos ang Estados Unidos at Japan ng $100 billion na pamumuhunan kabilang na ang enerhiya at semiconductors sa Pilipinas sa susunod na 5 hanggang 10 taon.

Ang investment package ay inaasahan na ia-anunsyo sa isasagawang trilateral summit sa pagitan ng Pilipinas, Estados Unidos at Japan sa White House ngayong araw ng Huwebes, Abril 11.

“We’re talking about $100 billion in investments in the next 5-10 years. Perhaps 5 years will be more appropriate because we have a lot of areas where we are putting ourselves,” ayon kay Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

“A lot of these investments are mostly in the semiconductor industry… and also in the area of energy,” aniya pa rin sabay sabing “The energy exploration, which involves the West Philippine Sea, is part and parcel of what we are looking at to bump up our energy requirements, which are increasing every year.”

Sinabi pa nito na nakikipag-usap na ang gobyerno sa ilang kumpanya ng Estados Unidos at naghahanap ng potential partners para sa isang joint venture para sa pagsasaliksik ng energy source sa lugar.

“The semiconductor industry, meanwhile, is an $80-billion industry in Southeast Asia alone,” ayon kay Romualdez.

“The semiconductor industry is going to be the wave of the future in terms of the technology that is going to be required for anything,” aniya pa rin.

“That is an indication of how much potentially can come to the Philippines,” dagdag na wika nito.

Nagdesisyon naman ang Washington at Tokyo na maglunsad ng “new initiatives to accelerate and surge high-quality infrastructure investments in the Philippines to enhance energy security, deepen maritime cooperation, to strengthen partnerships on technology and cybersecurity,” ayon kay US National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby sa hiwalay na panayam.

“Our three countries embark on this new era of trilateral cooperation as trusted, equal partners, guided by shared values and an unwavering commitment to a free, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” ayon kay Kirby.

“The [US] President is very excited for the joint investment and infrastructure opportunities in the Philippines, and for the first time in the Indo-Pacific, in this sort of scale,” aniya pa rin.

Inilarawan naman ni Romualdez ang trilateral summit bilang “probably one of the most momentous and historical moments in our history.”

“This meeting is not only important but it is also significant in the sense that the President, who has always believed in the multilateral approaches to any of the issues surrounding — or challenges we are facing in the Indo-Pacific region — is exactly what we are going to be doing here,” aniya pa rin.

“Aside from the defense strategies that we have put in place… the enhancement of our economic cooperation with Japan and the US is just as important,” dagdag na pahayag nito.

Sa kabilang dako, ang Estados Unidos ay itinuturing ng Pilipinas bilang “fourth largest source of foreign direct investments” noong 2023, umabot sa halaga ng $110 million.

Ang Japan naman ay ang “largest source of official development assistance” na itinuturing ng Pilipinas na may $12.92 billion na tulong o 40% ng kabuuang total portfolio ng bansa.

“Washington, under US President Joe Biden, has been trying to “revitalize” its treaty alliances,” ayon kay Kirby.

“The President [Biden] felt like those alliances and those partnerships need to be rejuvenated,” aniya pa rin.

“He’s also taken extra steps… to forge new ones, improving opportunities for our allies to cooperate together as well,” dagdag na wika nito.

“If you have more multinational cooperation… you can move the ball forward more than just the security element,” tinuran pa ni Kirby.

Samantala, matapos ang kanilang trilateral summit, inaasahan naman na magpapalabas sina Pangulong Marcos , Biden at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ng “joint vision statement,” na magbabalangkas sa “concrete areas and projects for cooperation” ng tatlong bansa. (Daris Jose)