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Peso up on dovish Fed remarks

THE PESO appreciated anew yesterday, reacting to a weaker dollar amid dovish comments from a Federal Reserve official on the next policy moves in the United States.

The local unit picked up for a four straight day as it finished at P51.095 versus the dollar on Wednesday, stronger than the P51.14-per-dollar logged the previous day. This is the peso’s best showing since a P51.08 close on Aug. 25.

The peso opened at P51.14 against the greenback. Its intraday low was at P51.19, while it climbed to P51.08 as its best showing during the session.

“The peso appreciated yesterday after Fed’s Brainard expressed concerns about increasing interest rates given low inflation in the US economy,” the first trader said via e-mail.

Reuters reported that Fed Governor Lael Brainard said the US central bank should hold off a fresh interest rate hike until it is sure that inflation will return above 2%.

The peso was the second best performer compared to a host of Asian currencies yesterday as it appreciated by 11 basis points next to the Malaysian ringgit, according to Reuters.

In general, all currencies in the region picked up strength against the dollar expect for the Korean won and the Singapore dollar.

Year-to-date, the peso is down by 2.67%, while all other Asian currencies grew stronger versus the greenback.

Apart from the Fed’s statements, another observer attributed the dollar’s continued depreciation to the global market developments that have weighed on investor appetite towards the dollar, as they consider other currencies as safe haven amid heightened volatility.

“There’s a lot of external turbulence making traders less optimistic. North Korea tensions, US’s hurricane Irma including the looming US debt ceiling showdown are some of the rough patches today, just to name the major ones,” said Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at Union Bank of the Philippines.

“The peso and the innate strength of the Philippine macroeconomy, on the other hand, have been positive for market players.”

Dollars traded yesterday totalled $468.8 million, slightly lower than the $511 million that exchanged hands on Tuesday.

Traders expect the peso to move within the P51 to P51.20 range for Thursday. In particular, the first trader said the peso could clip its rally today if non-manufacturing data in the US turn out to be strong. On the other hand, Mr. Asuncion said the peso could log “a bit stronger than P51” to a dollar for the next trading day. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Persons with different abilities

Some of my closest relatives are persons with disabilities (PWDs). Two of my cousins are deaf-mute.

But as a four-year old, I didn’t think of them in those terms. I remember them as having been very good at running and playing hide-and-seek, and being as noisy as small children always are when having fun. They migrated to the USA in their early ’20s and are living good lives. One of them is married and has two children with normal hearing. The other regularly travels and has already visited countries in at least three continents to date. They have high-paying jobs, own homes, and drive cars. Their lives would probably have been very different if they had stayed here in the Philippines.

Philippine society and government have tended to treat PWDs very inconsistently.

Filipinos in general are touched and inspired by stories of PWDs who have persevered in their endeavors despite the odds, yet few companies hire them for corporate positions, frequently relegating them to lower-paid work compared to their able-bodied counterparts. To quote my student-advisees’ undergraduate thesis on the topic, PWDs are “the first ones to go if the company (is) not doing well and the last ones to get in if the company is doing well.”

Republic Act No. 7277, also known as the Magna Carta for PWDs, encourages businesses to hire PWDs by providing businesses with tax incentives, yet the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) itself excluded PWDs from the 2015 Census of Population and Housing. When questioned, the PSA explained that the “main objective of the 2015 Census… is to update the population count,” and after having been criticized for its omission, stated that it would “conduct a Disability Prevalence Survey in 2016.” As of Dec. 28, 2016, the PSA reported the conduct of this survey in different provinces; however, a comprehensive report on the survey results has yet to be disseminated.

How can we ensure that PWDs are given opportunities to develop and use their talents?

It may be a cliché to think of them as “differently abled,” but it is a good starting point. I would expand this by claiming that “differently abled” does not and will never mean “less abled.”

As an example, Jessica Cox, a Filipino-American motivational speaker, can surf and fly a plane. She is also a taekwondo black belter. Only a few people, regardless of fitness level, can claim to have the same accomplishments. The difference between these people and Jessica is that she was born without arms. Obviously, she has not let her condition dictate what she can and cannot do. While it is true that PWDs have limitations on what they can do, they are no different from able-bodied persons, who also have limitations. In the same way, we have to view PWDs as talented, productive people who have the potential to make valuable contributions to our society.

Another way to encourage greater inclusion among PWDs is to showcase as exemplars the individuals and entities that have been nominated or have won the Apolinario Mabini Awards. According to its Web site, the Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled launched the awards in 1974 and chooses “individuals, groups and agencies that have made outstanding contributions” to PWDs.

Among the awards are Employer of the Year and Disabled-Friendly Establishment, which may be given to either government agencies or private companies that hire, employ, promote, and/or integrate PWDs in the workplace. Other awards include PWD Filipino of the Year (given to PWDs whose accomplishments make them role models), Disabled Group of the Year (given to PWD groups with outstanding educational, cultural, vocational, athletic, spiritual, or economic activities), and Media Advocate of the Year (given to individuals, groups, or institutions advocating PWD rights and welfare).

These are just initial steps in an extensive and long-range plan to weave PWDs into the fabric of Philippine society. We can learn much from them, and we still have to do much to make them feel that they are a part of, rather than outcasts from, our communities.

Industry, government, academe, and civil society need to collaborate in empowering and harnessing the talents of our differently abled brothers and sisters so that our society becomes truly inclusive. As parents, siblings, relatives, and friends of PWDs, let us show them our appreciation and support, and help them, even in small ways, to realize their dreams.

Atty. Frances Jeanne L. Sarmiento is an Assistant Professor at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University.

jeanne.sarmiento@gmail.com

FIDE World Cup starts

The FIDE World Cup has just started last Saturday in Tbilisi, the Capital City of the Republic of Georgia. This is a Knock-Out (KO) event involving 128 players. All 128 players are lined up according to their rating and for the first round the no. 1 seed is matched against no. 128, no. 2 against no. 127, etc. The rules for each match-up:

Each individual match consists of two classical games (except for the final, which consists of four). Players have 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds added to their time after every move starting move 1. If a match is tied after the regular games there will be a tie-break played the next day. The time controls for the tie-breaks are:

First, two rapid games (25 minutes plus 10 seconds added after every move) are played;

If the score is still tied another two rapid games (this time with a faster pace of 10 minutes each plus 10 seconds added after every move);

If still tied then two blitz games (5 minutes plus three seconds added after every move) are played;

Finally, if still tied then an Armageddon game (in which a draw counts as a win for Black) is played. White has five minutes and Black has four minutes, with an increment of three seconds/move starting from move 61.

That should take a total of three days (a day each for the classical games and then another day for the tie-breaks). The loser of each round gets to go home immediately with $6,000 (FIDE takes a cut of 20% of the prize money, so the player receives $4,800 net, which is still a lot of money) in his pocket. The winner plays in the next round starting day 4 under the same rules as the previous except that this time the loser goes home with $10,000. The prize money keeps increasing after every round (round 3 loser $16,000, round 4 $25,000, round 5 $35,000 and round 6 $50,000) until the finals where the runner-up gets $80,000 and the winner $120,000. Quite a substantial payout and finally a chance for a lot of players to earn decent money.

One thing we Filipinos should note is that the August 2017 ratings is the list used for the match-ups. Our great hope Wesley So was no. 2 highest-ranked player then. Assuming the highest-rated player wins in every match then Wesley’s opponents will be IM Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo (Colombia 2377), GM Sandro Mareco (Argentina 2649), GM Francisco Vallejo Pons (Spain 2717), GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia 2741), GM Hikaru Nakamura (USA 2781), GM Fabiano Caruana (2799), and final GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway 2827). Not a cake walk by any means, but at least Carlsen is saved for last and Wesley will have $80,000 in his pocket by then!

By the way, who is IM Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo? This 20-year old tied for 1st in the Zone 2.3 Championship (Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Costa Rica, etc) with the Cuban GM Yuri Gonzalez Vidal. He finished ahead of the very strong Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon, so he is not a pushover.

THE ROAD TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The next step in the world championship cycle, the Candidates Matches, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018. This is an 8-player double round-robin tournament comprising of:

The two finalists from this World Cup;

The loser of the previous world championship match (GM Sergey Karjakin)

The two top finishers from the FIDE Grand Prix (not yet finished although at present GMs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk are leading);

The top 2 players by rating not otherwise qualified (currently this is Fabiano Caruana and Vladimir Kramnik although Wesley So is very close); and

The organizers of the Candidates’ Tournament get to nominate one player who is rated at least 2725.

Whoever wins the Candidates tournament will challenge for the world title in the last quarter of 2018.

FAVORITES TO WIN
Tbilisi World Cup will be the strongest World Cup ever, with all of the Top 16 players in the world participating, including World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Most of the previous World Cup winners are also competing, and this includes Levon Aronian (won in 2005), Boris Gelfand (2009), Peter Svidler (2011), Vladimir Kramnik (2013) and Sergey Karjakin (2015). Only Gata Kamsky (winner of the 2007 event) is absent.

The hands-on favorite to win is Magnus Carlsen, no doubt. The World Cup features a mix of classical, rapid and blitz chess and he is rated no. 1 in all three disciplines: standard rating of 2827, rapid rating of 2909 (!!) way ahead of no. 2 Alexander Grischuk at 2851, and blitz rating of 2948, which is 50 points more than blitz no. 2 Sergey Karjakin.

Just for the sake of argument we assume that Carlsen does not make it — who else has a more-than-average chance of winning?

The three biggest contingents are from Russia, USA and China.

There are 20 Russians: Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler, Mikhail Antipov, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Dmitry Andreikin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Evgeny Tomashevsky, Ernesto Inarkiev, Aleksey Goganov, Daniil Dubov, Nikita Vitiugov, Evgeniy Najer, Aleksey Dreev, Anton Demchenko, Maxim Matlakov, Vladimir Fedoseev, Alexander Motylev, Boris Grachev, and Vladislav Artemiev.

Nine (9) Americans: Jeffery Xiong, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Alexander Onischuk, Varuzhan Akobian, Yaroslav Zherebukh (isn’t this guy Ukrainian? Yes, but now he is playing for the USA), Aleksandr Lenderman, Samuel Sevian.

Nine (9) Chinese: Ding Liren, Li Chao, Yu Yangyi, Wei Yi, IM Liu Guanchu, Dai Changren, Wang Hao, Bu Xiangzhi, Hou Yifan. 18-year-old Dai Changren and IM Liu Guanchu are the latest “unknown” Chinese who they hope to make a big splash in this tournament. They finished 1-2 in the Chinese “B” Championship and were given this chance to shine in Tbilisi. I know next-to-nothing about both of them except that the 18-year-old Dai Changren fights fearlessly and very hard in every game. Here is how he took out one of his main rivals in the “B” Championship.

* * *
Dai, Changren (2423) — Liu, Chang (2361) [B07]
CHN-chB Qinhuangdao (8), 19.07.2017

1.e4 d6 2.Nc3 g6 3.h4 Nf6 4.Be2 h5 5.d4 Bg7 6.Bg5 c6 7.Bf3 Nbd7 8.Nge2 Qc7 9.Qd2 e5 10.d5 cxd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Nf6 13.Qd2 Be6 14.Nc3 a6 15.0–0–0 Rd8 16.Kb1 0–0 17.Rhg1 Qc8 18.Be2 b5 19.a3 Rfe8 20.g3 Kh7 21.f3 Rd7 22.g4 hxg4 23.fxg4 Rc7 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.g5 Be7 26.h5 gxh5 27.Bxh5 Kg7 28.Nd5 Bxd5 29.Qxd5 Rf8 30.Rdf1 Bd8 31.Qxd6 [Black resigns because the only defense 31… Qe6 loses the queen to 32.Rxf7+!] 1–0

With such big contingents can we say that these three countries have an advantage over the rest? Not really. Remember Bobby Fischer and his complaints many years ago that there are so many Russians in the world championship cycle that they throw games to each other and make it impossible for players from other countries to compete? The format of this World Cup is designed precisely to negate this tactic. The World Cup with its one-on-one matches is an individual event and you are kicked out of the tournament if you are mated by Magnus Carlsen — no more catching up later.

I think if we are looking for a contingent with an advantage over the rest we should look at the home team. Georgia has Baadur Jobava (2687), Levan Pantsulaia (2585), Mikheil Mchedlishvili (2590) and Nana Dzagnidze (2519). Their best bet is Jobava but, like most other commentators, I think his very brilliant but sometimes unstable style is ill-sited for these KO tournaments. Even in one of his biggest tournament wins, tied 1st place in the 2017 European Championship, he lost in rounds 2 and 3 to outsiders Hovhannes Gabuzyan and Alexey Sarana. These early losses would have eliminated him in a KO system.

I’d like to point you in the direction of another home player who is not in that list, GM Anish Giri. He is rated no. 11 in the world and married to WGM Sopiko Guramishvili, a native of Tbilisi and they have a house there. Playing from a place where you are at ease with the benefit of home-cooked meals is a great advantage. And besides, Giri is in very good form.

Last month (Aug. 8-11), he played in a tune-up match vs China’s top-rated player Ding Liren in Wenzhou, China. It was a 4-game match with a time control the same as the World Cup. Giri won the match with 1 win and 3 draws. Here is that win.

* * *
Ding, Liren (2777) — Giri, Anish (2772) [C54]
Ding vs. Giri 2017 Wenzhou (2), 09.08.2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 0–0 6.h3 d6 7.c3 a6 8.a4 Ba7 9.Re1 h6 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Nf1

A bit of background. In Anand vs Carlsen from Norway 2017 Vishy continued 12.b4 Nh5 13.Ra2 Qf6 14.Nc4 b5 15.Ne3 Bb6 16.Ng4 Qe7 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.fxe3 the game ended in a draw but Anand was the one pushing. Anand,V (2786)-Carlsen,M (2832) Stavanger 2017 1/2 34.

12…Nh5 13.Be3 a5!

Making sure that White does not get a bind on the queenside as in the Anand-Carlsen game.

14.Bxa7 Rxa7 15.d4 Qf6

Aside from the stock kingside assault with …Nh5–f4 folowed by …g7–g5 and …h6–h5, Black also has ideas like …exd4, cxd4 followed by …Ra7–a6–b6–b4.

16.Re3 Nf4 17.h4 Qg6 18.g3 Raa8 19.dxe5 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 dxe5 21.f3 Rad8 22.Qc2 Nh5 23.Kh2 Rf6

Black is on the offensive but White’s position is solid — he just has to be careful.

24.Rd1 Rdf8 25.Rdd3 Qf7 26.Qd1 Rg6 27.Qe1 Qe7 28.Kh3? <D>

POSITION AFTER 28.KH3

And here is the mistake. 28.Qf2! holds the balance.

28…Rxg3+! 29.Nxg3 Nf4+ 30.Kh2 Qxh4+ 31.Kg1 Rf6! 32.Rd8+?!

Forces the Black king to where it wants to go, although the alternative still loses: 32.Rd2 Rg6 33.Rg2 Kh7! (Compare this position against the game continuation after White’s move 34. It is exactly the same except now it is White to move! The reason why going to h7 is so important is that if Black takes the rook now without putting the king on h7 first then 33…Nxg2? 34.Kxg2 h5 35.Qf2 Qf4 36.Kh3 Rxg3+ 37.Qxg3 Qxe3 38.Kh4 White is holding on) 34.b3 Nxg2 35.Kxg2 h5 36.Qf2 Qf4 37.Kh3 Rxg3+ 38.Qxg3 Qxe3 and now, in contrast to the previous line, 39.Kh4 does not work because with the Black king on h7 the second player now wins with …Kh6 followed by …g7–g5+) 39.Kg2 Qe2+ 40.Kh3 g5!

32…Kh7! 33.Rd2 Rg6 34.Rg2 h5 35.Rh2 Rxg3+ 36.Kh1 Qg5

Threatening …Nh3 followed by …Rg1+

37.Qf1 h4 38.Re1 h3 39.Rd1 Qh5 40.Rd7 Qxf3+ 41.Qxf3 Rxf3 42.Rhd2 Kh6 43.Rd8 Kh5 44.Rh8+ Kg4 45.Rd1 Ne2 0–1

Amongst others, Black is threatening Rf2 followed by Ne2–g3+ and Rg2 mate.

You may laugh and say that Anish Giri is a drawing master. Maybe so but soon we will see if I am on the mark.

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

IP member dies in Davao hospital after being shot by alleged military agent

A 19-YEAR-old member of an indigenous people (IP) community died after he was shot by an alleged military agent in Davao del Norte Tuesday afternoon, according to Task Force Lakbayan, the organizing committee for this year’s Lakbayan ng mga Pambansang Minorya. In a text message to media Wednesday morning, the task force said Obillo Bay-ao, a Grade 6 student of Salugpongan Community Learning Center, sustained serious wounds from the shooting and was declared dead by the Davao Regional Hospital at 9 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 5. Bay-ao’s death is the 47th case of political killing in the southern Mindanao area, according to the task force. — interaksyon.com

See full story on https://goo.gl/9Fc3qN

Talking cheese: of grass, happy cows, the lactose intolerant, and why we can’t make good cheese

THE HUMBLE, ubiquitous cheese, set on all tables from high to humble, is a record of man’s manipulation of nature as well as the desire not only to survive, but to savor.

Cheese has been made since prehistory, ostensibly to lengthen the shelf life of milk by taking out the water and sugar from dairy, and leaving behind fat and protein, to be matured by bacteria under perfect conditions first provided by caves.

Perhaps cheese even has a hand in allowing for human settlement, since in many cultures the production of food through fermentation and preservation allowed humans to stay longer in a place, as opposed to going around looking for pasture grounds for milk-producing livestock.

Cheese is also a testament to the spread of culture (and we’re not talking about bacteria). Take for example American cheesemaking, which combines the techniques of the people who have migrated to America in search of greener, well, pastures. In the state of California alone, we can find hundreds of varieties of cheese, with influences from many cultures: mozzarella from Italy, oaxaca from South America, and cheddar from England. Of course, California has since produced a few cheeses of its own (like Monterey Jack). “I could go on for quite a while, because there’s practically 200; I don’t know,” said “cheese dude” Mark Todd, a cheese expert and dairy organization consultant, who was in Manila this week for a cheesemaking session organized by the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) in Back of the House kitchen in Quezon City.

Guests at the session lent a hand – and then some – during the cheesemaking session. It turns out that it’s quite easy to make your own cheese, such as a ricotta that was made in about an hour and a half, using materials that could be bought in stores or already found in homes, such as stock pots, a dairy thermometer, a whisk, a spatula, a colander, cheesecloth, skimmer, and a wooden spoon. Using whole cow’s milk, heavy cream, citric acid powder, and kosher salt, guests heated milk and waited for curds to form. The curds were then allowed to sit, then ladled into the cheesecloth spread across a strainer over a bowl. After draining the curds, presto, you’ve got a lovely creamy ricotta.

Mr. Todd discussed why California milk is unique: it’s all in the grass, baby. “If you know anything about milk, what goes into a cow is what comes out.” While some areas in California have a lot of fresh dewy grass, some Californians not blessed with a lot of moisture use hay to feed their cows. And that’s all right too: according to Mr. Todd, either method yields great milk: hay-fed cows provide more consistent cheeses, while grass-fed cows, exposed to more variables, produce milk with more variations, which provides for more seasonality and variety in cheese.

Either way, “California has clean air coming right off the ocean, it has clean water coming right out of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and it has a pretty even temperature,” said Mr. Todd. This means that the cows aren’t exposed to extremes in temperature, and that makes for a happy mammal. “Any product that is produced agriculturally has a flavor of place. The better your place is, the better the flavor’s going to be,” he pointed out.

While we associate California with glamorous Hollywood and high living (at least along the coast), few would associate it with hardworking hands and the desire and ability to feed America. As well, products from a place, like Mr. Todd said, provide a way to know not only the land, but its people. “It says that we’re a great agricultural state, which we really are. Most people that think of California think of Hollywood, and stuff like that. That’s like 5% of California.”

Mr. Todd is in Manila, a city in Asia, and most of the Asian population is lactose-intolerant. Not to worry: “Most of the world is lactose-intolerant – including me,” said Mr. Todd. “If you’re lactose-intolerant, you want to stick to yogurt and particularly aged cheeses.” This is because the lactose in these has been converted to lactic acid during the fermentation process, as opposed to fresh milk and younger cheeses.

Aside from small productions in farms, or big factories churning out processed cheese, cheesemaking as an art hasn’t really kicked off in the Philippines. “You don’t have the right stuff to feed your cows here. You don’t have the right kind of grass,” noted Mr. Todd. The climate in the country makes for low-protein grass, which translates into the milk the cows produce, and cheese relies on milk with high protein content.

When asked how to remedy the situation, Mr. Todd said, “Move.” – Joseph L. Garcia

Ports cargo volume rises 7.42% in first half

CARGO throughput recorded by ports in the Philippines rose 7.42% in the first half of the year, reflecting a positive economic climate, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said.

The PPA said that all types of cargo operations, except for loose export cargoes, posted positive performances in the six months to June.

Mindanao ports also posted gains for the period despite security issues raised by the Marawi City siege.

Cargo volume was 125.805 million metric tons (MMT).

Domestic volume rose 8.79%, while foreign volume rose 6.51%. Import volume rose 11.41%, while exports decline 0.61% year on year.

“Port traffic sustained its growth momentum propelled by the surging domestic demand as well as private investment, which drove economy-wide growth in view of the government’s expansionary fiscal-policy stance. The more efficient movement of cargoes coming in and out of the Manila ports as a result of the implementation of Terminal Management Booking System and other decongestion measures paved the way for the sustained efficient operations of the ports,” PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago was quoted as saying in a statement.

“Mindanao ports, particularly those in Northern Mindanao, continued to show growth notwithstanding the ongoing security concerns in the region,” Mr. Santiago added.

The Northern Mindanao ports, composed of Iligan, Ozamiz, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, and Surigao, handled a total of 112.575 MMT.

Passenger traffic continue to rise at a rate of 1.86% year on year to 38.583 million passengers, driven by increased travel during Easter as well as the continuous reliance on Roll-on, Roll-Off (Ro-Ro) vessels, fast craft, and motorized bancas as primary mode of transportation for interisland connectivity.

Passenger traffic through the ports may also reflect the government’s domestic eco-tourism programs promoting Ro-Ro connections to island destinations such as Siargao, Puerto Galera, Bohol, Coron, and El Nido.

Ship calls declined by 0.61% to 219,380 due to trip cancellation due to adverse weather.

The Manila Ports composed of the Manila South Harbor, Manila North Harbor, and the Manila International Container Terminal, posted a combined yard utilization of 53%. Combined berth occupancy rate was 57% and quay crane productivity was 26 moves per crane per hour, levels which the PPA said do not reflect any congestion at the facilities. — Patrizia Paola C. Marcelo

As world watches Kim, China quietly builds South China Sea clout

SINGAPORE — As Kim Jong Un’s antics in North Korea capture global attention, China is quietly moving to bolster its grip on disputed territory in the South China Sea.

Last month, a Philippine lawmaker released photos he said showed Chinese fishing, coast guard and navy vessels surrounding a Philippine-occupied isle in the Spratly island chain, preventing planned repairs to a runway. Vietnam in July halted drilling in an area leased to Spain’s Repsol S.A, amid reports it did so under Chinese duress.

The incidents suggest China is taking advantage of a perceived US vacuum on Southeast Asia under President Donald J. Trump, whose administration has focused on Chinese trade tensions and North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests.

While the US is still doing what it calls “freedom of navigation” naval operations in the South China Sea, testing China’s claims to exclusive access — it plans to conduct two to three such maneuvers in the next few months, according to the Wall Street Journal — and a rear admiral publicly chiding Beijing for its behavior, the intensity of its actions and statements on the waters has faded since Mr. Trump took office.

Doubts over the future of US commitment could leave some Southeast Asian states reluctant to publicly challenge China on their own. The risk is that while the US is occupied further north, China expands its presence in the South China Sea in a way that becomes impossible to unwind, giving it the strategic advantage over time.

“China knows that Trump is very focused on North Korea, and not too worried about Southeast Asia,” said Jay L. Batongbacal, director of the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea at the University of the Philippines. “There is a willingness on their part to push things as far as they can.”

The recent actions are a far cry from the clashes at sea that occurred in mid-2014 when China dragged an oil rig into waters also claimed by Vietnam. After an international outcry, Beijing withdrew the rig several months later.

When a 2005 agreement to share the area’s resources expired in 2008, the Philippines and Vietnam opposed China’s so-called nine-dash line — marks on a map covering more than 80% of the South China Sea — as a basis for joint exploration.

Now, under Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Beijing and Manila are negotiating a deal for the Sampaguita gas field at Reed Bank as a starting point. Without strong support from the US or Southeast Asian nations, Vietnam could find itself less able to push back against China’s efforts to drill in other areas.

Vietnam is concerned about the potential of a US pullback in the region. “We are watching them with worry,” said Tran Viet Thai, a deputy director-general at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam in Hanoi, where the country’s diplomats are trained. “We want to see the positive contribution of the US to regional stability and international security.”

China’s focus is on pushing joint exploration that ties economic fortunes together and takes the focus off strategic ambitions. Standing alongside Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in Manila in July, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said joint exploration was an idea “full of political wisdom.”

According to a 2013 estimate by the US Energy Information Administration, the South China Sea has in total about 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas rated as proved or probable reserves.

BLOCK 136-03
The latest tensions are over exploration block 136-03, which is located around 350 miles (560 kilometers) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City and which China calls Wanan Bei-21.

It’s not the first time the area has been an issue. In 1994, Chinese warships blocked a Vietnamese oil drilling rig from working in the area, and in 2011, Vietnam said a Chinese fishing boat rammed a PetroVietnam ship doing a seismic survey. The BBC reported in July that Vietnam had terminated drilling by Repsol “following strong threats from China.”

Repsol confirmed the suspension in an earnings call in July but said it would not comment further. Asked about the matter on July 25, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China urged the relevant party to stop its “unilateral actions that infringe upon China’s rights.”

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said in a statement on the ministry’s website in July that Vietnam asked parties to respect its rights in the waterway. China’s live-firing drills in the Paracel archipelago violate Vietnam’s sovereignty and threaten peace in the region, she said in a statement on Sept. 5.

Other Vietnamese blocks overlapping China’s claims involve Exxon Mobil Corp., Murphy Oil Corp. and KrisEnergy Ltd., according to Jean-Baptiste Berchoteau, an Asian upstream research analyst for Wood Mackenzie.

The foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China have now endorsed a framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

Exploration done in accordance with Philippine law “would be a constructive development for future foreign relations within Southeast Asia,” said Albert del Rosario, a former Philippine foreign secretary. “Respect for the rule of law by China would be welcomed not only by Asean but by the responsible community of nations.” — Bloomberg

Fruits output rises in 2nd quarter; mango falls 10%

OUTPUT of major fruit crops, which include banana, pineapple and calamansi (Citrus microcarpa), rose in the second quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The agency’s quarterly bulletin shows that banana output in the three months to June rose to 2.27 million metric tons (MT), up 2.6% from a year earlier.

The expansion in banana production was atttributed to bigger bunches harvested in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur due to favorable rainfall; an increase in area harvested and number of bearing hills for Cavendish variety on corporate farms in Bukidnon, Sultan Kudarat, Davao City and Davao Oriental.

The Davao Region recorded the highest production at 917,230 MT which represented 40.4% of the country’s total production.

Cavendish banana, the main export variety, accounted for 52.5% of the total production of the fruit during the quarter.

Pineapple production also rose 1% to 675,200 MT as corporate farms in Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and South Cotabato expand their area planted to the commodity and Cavite and Laguna also saw increased planting due to attractive prices.

The top pineapple producer was Northern Mindanao representing a 51.7% share of total ouput.

Calamansi ouput rose 2.5% to 18,952 MT from 18,490 MT in 2016 with the Mimaropa region as the biggest calamansi producer accounting for 36.3% of the total.

The PSA attrbutes growth to greate yields in Zamboanga Sibugay and Tarlac due to increased application of fertilizer and proper pruning and bigger fruit produced in Sultan Kudarat due to favorable rainfall.

Meanwhile, mango output fell during the period by 10.1% to 545,280 MT.

This was largely due to a decrease in yields from Pangasinan — which was hit by cecid fly pest — and Zamboanga del Norte, with growing areas in general seeing rain during the critical flowering and fruit setting stages.

The second quarter also saw a decline in the number of mango-bearing trees in Cagayan and Isabela due to Typhoons Karen and Lawin.

The Ilocos region contributed the most to the national output with a 24.3% share.

Carabao mango made up 81.2% of total mango production. — Janina C. Lim

How Discovery Networks plans to attract millennial viewers

DISCOVERY NETWORKS Asia Pacific (DNAP) plans to capture the attention of more millennial viewers by strengthening its presence in the digital space, as the network targets to boost its viewership by 300 million across Southeast Asia by 2020.

DNAP Vice President and General Manager Shavkat Berdiev is looking to attain this goal by tapping partners who have already established themselves in the digital space.

“Our major approach is to have strong partners in the market. We believe that to get a max out of what we can do is to have someone strong on the ground who can help us with operations but also with understanding the market. So we are in talks with several partners here, to launch our digital propositions,” Mr. Berdiev said in an interview with BusinessWorld in Pasay City last week.

The bulk of DNAP’s business currently comes from subscription television or pay-TV. In the Philippines, the network has a 14% penetration rate among households with televisions.

While Mr. Berdiev said this segment of the business is still growing, the pace is much slower compared to digital.

“There’s a significant growth coming from audiences using mobiles so I think these are areas where I can help Discovery to get to new levels because the digital is being added to linear TV viewership, so suddenly networks like Discovery and others have the opportunity of reaching new people that they didn’t have before,” he explained.

Mr. Berdiev said they are exploring all digital platforms for expansion.

“Going into digital, we’re looking at all options available on the market, including streaming sites and players like that. If you want to be successful in digital you want to make sure that you are present in all those platforms,” he said.

The digital industry’s growth is attributed primarily to the preferences of the millennial audience, or those aged 18 to 35 years old, who spend more time watching shows on their mobile phones rather than sitting down in front of a television.

For instance, Mr. Berdiev cited an experiment they did for the premiere of the DNAP show The Kings, which follows the life of former model and host Joey Mead King and her husband’s transition to being a transgender woman. While the show was aired on pay-TV, the first episode was also broadcast live on social networking site Facebook, which garnered five times more viewers than the former.

Mr. Berdiev said the network’s venture into the digital space also comes as audiences are presented with more choices by which they can entertain themselves.

“It opens the access to people to watch videos even when they are not at home like when you are traveling. You can really watch good quality content when you travel. This is something people didn’t have before,” he said.

The shift in focus to the digital space would also mean a change in the format and content of the shows that DNAP would be producing. From previously creating long-format shows ranging from 30 minutes to an hour, the network has started experimenting with short-form programming that lasts between five to 10 minutes.

Noting that the millennial generation’s watching behavior is slightly different, Mr. Berdiev said DNAP would have to produce shows that would attract audiences with a shorter attention span.

To start, DNAP is in the midst of launching 16 shows with localized content, or those that feature Asian stars. This is what Mr. Berdiev called as the first major phase in introducing new content to the network, which previously had been showing Western content.

“That’s our strategy, to keep creating very strong Asian shows that can also travel to other countries. Because I think the influence of Asia overall is increasing worldwide, and having those Asian formats is also important,” Mr. Berdiev said. — Arra B. Francia

Amazon launches movie streaming service featuring African-American films

AMAZON.COM Inc. on Tuesday launched Brown Sugar, the new subscription-video-on-demand service featuring what it calls the biggest collection of the “baddest” African-American movies for its prime members.

Prime customers would receive a seven-day free trial to access the service at BrownSugar.com and on other devices paying $3.99 per month thereafter, Amazon said in a statement.

The Brown Sugar Web site tag line describes itself as “a black explosion of hot chicks, cool cats and cult classics.” Its portfolio of movies include Blacula, Black Caesar, Cotton Comes to Harlem and Foxy Brown, among others.

The announcement comes at a time when online video-streaming services like Netflix, Inc. and Amazon Prime are competing to gain traction among young viewers who are shying away from traditional television services.

Brown Sugar, run by African-American TV network Bounce, would be available on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Kindle and Web browsers via BrownSugar.com. — Reuters

Fans lift Venus

Venus Williams proved extremely gracious in the aftermath of her three-set victory over fellow quarterfinalist Petra Kvitova yesterday. “I was fortunate to win the match,” she said. “It came down to the wire.” Both were, to be sure, understatements. Certainly, it took no small measure of skill, determination, and, yes, luck for her to upend one of the oddsmakers’ favorites heading into the United States Open. At the same time, there can be no discounting the effort she gave in trading punishing groundstrokes with the two-time Wimbledon champion for two hours and 34 minutes. In the end, she needed to stay solid in the tie-break — which she didn’t look capable of forging after her serve was broken early — to prevail.

Had Kvitova won, the US Open would not have lacked for a sentimental story. After all, she, too, was treading a path of redemption; after a home invasion late last year compelled her to go under the knife to repair tendons and nerves in her dominant hand, she hitherto found her return to form stunted by extended convalescence and a seeming lack of confidence. At Flushing Meadows, however, the talent that propelled her to two Grand Slam titles was on full display; prior to meeting Williams, she made short work of reigning All-England queen Garbine Muguruza.

Nonetheless, it was clear from the outset on whose side the 23,000-odd spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium were on. And the partisan crowd’s sentiments became even more pronounced when the roof had to be closed due to rain in the middle of the second set. No doubt, the support helped Williams during trying moments in the set-to, particularly in the third, when her serve came under pressure, and when she had to claw back from behind and force sudden death. As she noted in her post-mortem, “I have to say I felt every single one of you guys behind me. I didn’t want to let you guys down.”

In the end, Williams did more than enough to win. She scored more points, put more first and second serves in, committed fewer unforced errors, and, at 37, literally covered more ground per point than her opponent 10 years her junior. Up next: a date with Sloane Stevens, also an American and also recovering from surgery. Should she prevail, she will have booked a slot in the final of a third major event in one calendar year for the first time since 2002. And no less than her immediate past victim is cheering her on. When asked if she could still claim two more victories, Kvitova disclosed, “I think she can. I hope so, actually.”

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

Argentina’s next move to increase exports involves implanting microchips in cattle

ARGENTINA’S push to ramp up agriculture exports is moving to a new frontier: micro-chipped cows.

For the first time, the nation’s government will work to promote the technology in an effort to increase the traceability of supplies and make beef shipments more attractive to potential buyers in the US and Asia, according to Jorge Dillon, the president of the country’s agricultural sanitary service, or Senasa.

Currently, farmers use colored ear tags to manually track cattle. Microchips, and the accompanying digital tracking, would eliminate errors that arise from monitoring animal movement with paperwork, Dillon said in an interview in Buenos Aires. The technology can pave the way for Argentina to sell its beef to countries with even the most stringent import requirements, he said. Shipments to the US have been banned since 2001 because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Countries focused on beef exports, such as Australia, have already turned to micro-chipping as Asia’s desire to track steaks all the way back to the ranch increases and world concerns over food safety intensify, said Glynn Tonsor, an associate professor of agricultural economics who specializes in traceability at Kansas State University.

The move to push micro-chipping, which could be published in Argentina’s federal register as soon as next week, reflects broader efforts to open up Argentina’s beef sector under President Mauricio Macri. He’s been leaning on farmers to drive an economic recovery since taking office in December 2015. It’s a turnaround from his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who focused on protectionist policies. Beef producers were among the worst hit in the Fernandez de Kirchner years, as high export taxes and domestic price controls stifled the industry.

Argentine officials have been in talks with counterparts in the US to resume exports to the country for months. Progress in those negotiations could expedite access to countries in Asia, including Japan and South Korea, Dillon said.

“The US would put us in the shop window for other very demanding markets,” Dillon said.

The microchip system will initially be voluntary because the cost would be too high for small-scale farmers with fewer than 100 cattle, Dillon said.

US inspectors visited Argentine slaughterhouses in December, but there hasn’t been much movement in the negotiations since then. Dillon said the American officials had requested extra information on sanitary controls and that Argentina responded two weeks ago. If the inspectors are happy with the clarifications, approval could be imminent, he said. — Bloomberg

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