Asia rising on mutually beneficial policy

There are signs that the Philippines-China relationship is among the priorities for both countries. This signifies not just the assistance (China is offering the Philippines), but also the trust it is gaining in doing so, the establishment of comfortable relations between China and the Philippines.

In the past, this was not the case because of "beggar-thy-neighbor" policies. What we need, as China is showing, is "prosper-thy-neighbor" policies. If that were to happen, we will definitely see Asia rising, which will strengthen globalization and help ensure a peaceful world.

The Asian financial crisis taught us a number of lessons which we must continue to learn from to move forward. Among these is the fact that the Asian economies have to strive to be much more interdependent, in order to move forward.