Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin (left) and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Fujian Province, on April 2, 2021. Photo: China's Foreign Ministry hilippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin is currently in Beijing to ask the Chinese to order the 200-plus fishing trawlers of its Maritime Militia fleet out of Philippine waters. For weeks now, this unusually large number of trawlers has been anchored by the Julian Filipe Reef. That uninhabited reef is roughly 320 kilometers off the western tip of Palawan and is well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Locsin is to meet with his Chinese counterpart Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Unfortunately for Locsin, given his government's obsequious attitude towards Beijing, it is doubtful he will succeed in having the trawlers moved from Philippine waters. From the time former president Gloria Arroyo agreed to the top-secret Joint Maritime Seismic Understanding (JMSU) with China in 2005, China learned early on that some Philippine leaders were naive, gullible, and easily corruptible. Given Locsin's mercurial temper and his faux American-slang manner of speaking, it might be hard for the Chinese to understand what he is saying. So it remains to be seen whether he will be able to clearly articulate the deep concerns of the Filipino people who just want their national borders to be respected. It is unlikely that Beijing will agree to any real concession or remove their flotilla from Philippine waters. Beijing will more than likely offer Locsin some face-saving token concessions that he can take with him back to Manila to announce a successful bilateral meeting with great fanfare. Then again, Locsin might pull a rabbit out of the hat and actually get the Chinese to move their trawlers out of Philippine waters. If that happens, he can probably run for president in 2022. Published 4/3/2021