SIDEBAR

What’s In it For Norway?

The formal opening and first round of GRP-NDFP talks was in Oslo following the acceptance by both parties of the Norwegian government’s six-year standing offer to host the talks. While the GRP has resisted talks abroad, the NDFP has stood firm on its demand for the talks to be held in a “foreign neutral venue” to ensure the safety of its panel and consultants.

There are other benefits for the peace process. “The Norwegian government’s hosting adds great prestige and dignity to the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations,” NDFP chief negotiator and National Executive Committee member Luis Jalandoni explains.

Also, Jalandoni says, “It can provide stability to the talks because the Norwegian government is willing to provide the venue in a long-term manner and keep on offering its good offices, providing moral, political and financial support to the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations.”

Norway, too, gains. The Nordic country has a GDP per head larger than the United States’ or Japan’s (and rivals Switzerland’s) but its small size, with a population of only 4.5 million, limits its global presence. However, since the early 1990s -- in a canny move to establish its niche as a player in international geopolitics -- it increasingly gave emphasis on supporting peace processes.

Norway has involved itself as an international peace facilitator and mediator in conflicts in the Middle East, Central America and in Africa. Norway assisted Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in secret negotiations that led to the Oslo Agreement (1993) and subsequent mutual recognition. It acted as mediator in peace talks in internal conflicts in Guatemala and Sri Lanka. It has also participated in peace processes in Colombia and in the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Its efforts have borne fruit. After over four years of intense lobbying, Norway took a seat in the 15-member United Nations (UN) Security Council, for a two-year term starting January 1, 2001, on a platform of “comprehensive peace-building.”  Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility in maintaining international peace and security on behalf of all the UN member countries.

Norway may also have economic reasons for specifically involving itself in the civil war in the Philippines. Among its principal exports are petroleum, petroleum products, gas, ships and boats and it has built up a significant technological and industrial base in these areas.

Since the late 1980s, Norway has been eyeing for development reported oil and gas reserves in Palawan, an island in the western part of the Philippines. The potential flashpoint of the disputed resource-rich Spratly Islands—with the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia claiming territory—is supposedly also a cause for concern. Norwegian shipping would be affected by any turmoil in the shipping lanes of the South China Sea.

Norway has long had trade and current account surpluses as a result of its oil exports; these have reached stratospheric levels with the high oil prices in recent years. Its excess of financial capital means that it has a perpetual interest in securing foreign outlets for its investments. The Philippines could be cultivated as one such outlet.  (Sandra Nicolas)


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