A short music video barely two minutes in length is gaining traction among netizens as it skewers China’s alleged attempts at acquiring the Grande and Chiquita Islands in Zambales and Fuga Island in Aparri.
The video shows the islands set to the music of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” with a woman singing Filipino lyrics that portray China as being enamored of the three islands, then swooping in to steal them from a country that has been enjoying a time of peace and optimism.
The video then calls out China for poaching territory from its neighbors. It is still unknown who produced the video, but it seemed to touch a nerve among netizens who left comments on social media agreeing with the video’s allegations.
One user on the “Justice for Sale” Facebook page, where the music video was posted, said that “it’s true that China is stealing islands from the Philippines.” Another commenter claimed that China “has been achieving progress by using the resources of the Philippines.”China’s sincerity in helping out the Philippines was questioned by another commenter, who said China would be welcome here “if they were sincere in their desire to help,” but warned them of “attempting to hoodwink the Filipino people.
”It is unknown if the Chinese embassy is aware of the video or the netizens’ comments over it.
The “Las Isla Bonita” video appeared online after reports that a Chinese-owned company, Sanya CEDF Sino-Philippine Investment Corp., proposed in 2019 to develop and operate Grande and Chiquita Islands in Zambales in a $298 million (P14 billion) project partnership with local firm GFTG Property Holdings.
The deal was put on hold by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, which oversees Grande and Chiquita Islands, after seeing “some problems” that would violate the Philippine Constitution.
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