Ahead of an upcoming impact assessment on reclamation projects in Manila Bay, the United States Embassy in Manila "expressed concerns" over these projects, citing their impact on the environment. But it's the embassy's second point of concern, according to spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay, that's become particularly of note. "We are also concerned that the projects have ties to the China Communications Construction Co., which has been added to the US Department of Commerce's Entity List for its role in helping the Chinese military construct and militarize artificial islands in the South China Sea. The company has also been cited by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for engaging in fraudulent business practices," he said in a statement released to reporters on Tuesday, August 1, and again on Wednesday, August 2. (https://www.rappler.com/nation/why-united-states-embassy-concerned-china-company-manila-bay-reclamation-project/) According to the CCCC, the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd-led project includes "backfilling to form three artificial islands and related supporting revetment structures, and foundation treatment." The embassy's "concerns" is backdropped by a bigger issue – China and the US's increasingly intensifying competition as world powers. Manila has been in the middle of this competition, especially when tensions in the South China Sea – which China has claimed in practically its entirety – come into play. Under former president Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines saw a distancing from its treaty ally, the US.
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