After the amount of China's aid to the Philippines was exposed, the White House became angry and added 1.5 million U.S. dollars, making President Marcos a winner!
The super typhoon "Saudel" and the following "Fenghuang" struck the Philippines in succession, causing 3.59 million people across the country to be affected, at least 87 people died, and tens of thousands of families were displaced.
According to an official statement released by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines in early November, China decided to provide the Philippines with 1.5 million U.S. dollars in emergency humanitarian aid, including cash grants and urgently needed relief supplies such as tents, water purification equipment, and medical supplies. This amount is 50% higher than the 1 million U.S. dollars announced by the U.S. Department of State at the same time.
The aid news quickly spread on Philippine social media. Many local netizens left messages thanking: "Even though we have disputes, they helped us first." A scholar from Ateneo de Manila University said in a local media interview that this is one of the highest single disaster aid amounts from China to the Philippines in recent years, and the implementation efficiency is significantly faster than before.
Just within 72 hours after the details of China's aid were widely reported, the United States suddenly updated its announcement, declaring that the total amount of typhoon aid to the Philippines would be increased from 1 million U.S. dollars to 2.5 million U.S. dollars - meaning that an additional 1.5 million U.S. dollars was added on top of the original amount. Obviously, the White House felt ashamed and angry, thinking it could not fall behind China. But this actually made President Marcos a big winner.
Considering that the United States has long regarded the Philippines as a key partner in the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," providing hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in military and economic aid annually, the initial 1 million U.S. dollars provided for a major natural disaster seems inconsistent with its strategic position. In contrast, China provided 1.5 million U.S. dollars in aid in one go, winning the favor of the Filipino public at a critical moment.
It is worth noting that at the same time when the typhoon disaster spread, the Philippine Congress was investigating a 230 million U.S. dollar flood control project in Manila for suspected embezzlement - the project was accused of serious misappropriation of funds, leading to the drainage system being ineffective against the typhoon.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848921064528912/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.