Fisher-folk in the Philippines Oppose Bilateral Trade Accord with Japan

Article by activist/journalist Stefan Christoff, a member of the International Observers Mission (IMA) to the Philippines in May 2007.

“In the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, particularly articles twenty-eight and twenty-nine in the agreement, outlines that huge fishing fleets from Japan will be allowed to explore our national waters in the Philippines, particularly our exclusive economic zones.”

BY STEFAN CHRISTOFF
Contributed to Bulatlat
Vol. VIII, No. 27, August 10-16, 2008

"Opposition to a bilateral trade accord between Japan and the Philippines is growing increasingly public throughout the Pacific archipelago and this week Pamalakaya, a national fisher-folk alliance, announced a national campaign to oppose the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

As negotiations within international trade institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) continue to falter, multiple G8 nations, such as Japan, the U.S. and Canada, are switching their attention to negotiating bilateral or regional trade accords throughout the world. Bilateral trade accords generally articulate a similar economic vision common to the WTO, which views natural resources, public sector institutions and the environment in terms of rapid economic profit. More...