Alvin Camba is an assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He is also a faculty affiliate at the Climate Policy Lab at the Fletcher School at Tufts University.
Scholars from eight Southeast Asian countries provide their takes on the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in their countries for the past decade.
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Panelists will discuss how local players in three Southeast Asian countries—the Philippines, Malaysia, and Myanmar—pushed Chinese actors to adapt to local conditions.
China has invested heavily in infrastructure development in the Philippines, but political leaders such as President Rodrigo Duterte have used these projects for political gains. Alvin Camba explains the political maneuvering behind these China-funded projects and how Filipino leaders can promote more equitable development finance projects.
A lively discussion of powerful similarities and intriguing differences across four regions—Southeast Asia, Latin America, Central Asia, and South Asia—and what can be learned by comparing local strategies and Chinese responses around infrastructure, investment, and training.
Despite public perceptions, Philippine ruling elites concerned with political expediency, not Chinese actors, are often the key culprits sidestepping social and environmental safeguards on infrastructure projects. Chinese players generally have accommodated these Philippine demands.