OPPONENTS of the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) have vowed to launch an East Asia-wide campaign against Japan’s partnership agreements with other countries in the East Asia region.

Gerry Albert Corpuz, information officer of the Left-leaning Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas, disclosed the plan during a meeting in Dijon, France, held from January 11 to 13, as the group feared that such agreements will result in the massive depletion of fish, particularly tuna, in the region’s fishing grounds.

However, administration Sen. Edgardo Angara warned that the Philippines could end up as the “odd one out” in Asia if the Senate fails to ratify the bilateral trade accord that its proponents claim is similar to what Japan had already forged with its other Asian neighbors.

Appearing at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum, Angara predicted that nonratification of the controversial Jpepa would virtually relegate the country outside of the regional trading community.

“We don’t want that to happen because Japan is one of our leading trading partners,” he said, adding that failure to ratify the Jpepa would mean, among others, that Philippine goods cannot enter the Japanese market.

“And that is not guesswork,” Angara added, as he brushed off concerns that the same scare tactics earlier applied in lobbying for Senate ratification of Philippine entry into the World Trade Organization are again being put into play.

“This year we may encounter economic difficulties,” he said, adding that “the US is in recession and, therefore, we will have less exports [sold in the American market].”

Angara also predicted that overseas Filipino workers will likely send less money “because the exchange rate is unfavorable to them and, on the other hand, prices will go up, inflation will go up, so we may have to face severe economic hardship.”

“And if the world goes into recession, even the world producers will suffer…nobody will buy and the demand [for our exports] will slow down,” he added.

Corpuz represented the Sri Lankan-based World Forum of Fishers People   in the seminar called by Arder Bourgogne, a French peasant federation opposed to such lopsided trade agreement.

According to Corpuz, Pamalakaya will hold a conference against Jpepa and other Japanese economic partnership agreement in May or in June this year.

Aside from Jpepa, the Japanese government, in collaboration with Japanese transnational corporations, had signed Jpepa and similar economic pacts with Singapore (2002), Malaysia (2005), Thailand (2007) and Brunei (2007).

He said Japan had begun negotiations for economic agreements with South Korea (2003),  Indonesia (2005), Vietnam (2007), India (2007), Australia (2007) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations   as a whole in 2005.

Corpuz said Japan is holding exploratory talks with China and New Zealand for bilateral trade agreements and, at the same time, is exploring a trilateral Japan-China-South Korea deal as a “model” for the targeted East Asia-wide economic agreement.

“Next to the United States, Japan is the next imperialist power who wants to dominate the trade of goods and investments in the region, and Jpepa and all other economic agreements the Tokyo government wants to seal is part of this regional offensive aim to revive Japan and its economic dominance in East Asia and Oceania,” he said.

Citing the study paper penned by Ibon Foundation entitled “Jpepa: Surrendering Sovereignty and Development,” Pamalakaya national chairman Fernando Hicap said Jpepa and 15 other bilateral trade agreements, which Japan wants to accomplish this year, are part of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in East Asia, which is reminiscent of the “Greater East Asian Copartnership Sphere” that Japan aimed to establish in invading countries during the Second World War.

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OPPONENTS of the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) have vowed to launch an East Asia-wide campaign against Japan’s partnership agreements with other countries in the East Asia region.

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