President Duterte probably thinks all Filipinos are simpletons. He oversimplifies his defense of his policy of appeasement with China and thinks Filipinos are so gullible they would accept it hook, line and sinker. He says he did not want to confront China on its transgressions on Philippine territory and sovereignty because he didn’t want to antagonize our powerful neighbor and be drawn into a war we can’t win and where our soldiers will be massacred.
“I am faced with the possibility of a barbaric war. Hindi ko naman kaya ito, ipadala ko yung mga sundalo ko (I cannot do it, to send my soldiers). I will not embark on something, on a war that or battle that I cannot win, hindi ako g*go (I am not an idiot),” Duterte.
Neither are we, Mr. President. The President has been echoing what China’s President Xi Jin-ping and other Chinese officials wanted us to believe, that we have to either keep silent and acquiesce to their agenda or be ready to go to war. That’s what China wanted us to believe, that war is the only other option.
Nobody is saying we can win a war with China, which has grown to become a world superpower, but will confronting China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea really lead to war? Is waging war the only option to assert our sovereignty and our territorial integrity?
In the olden days, nations would just go to war to settle territorial disputes. But this is not the olden days. There are international covenants, tribunals, agencies and protocols that settle territorial disputes or at least try to maintain peace until a dispute can be settled.
For example, in May 2014, China installed an oil rig near the Paracels, an area also being claimed by Vietnam. Vietnam strongly protested the Chinese action and demanded that China withdraw the oil rig, planes and ships from the disputed area. The small nation also sent 29 ships to the area that led to water-spraying confrontations.
At the same time, Vietnam rallied support against China from fellow Asean member countries and from other nations. As a result, US, Singapore, Japan, Australia and European countries expressed deep concern about the incident. Facing international pressure, China backed off and pulled out its oil rig.
In contrast, the Philippines has exhibited an unprecedented defeatist reaction as China reclaimed islets, built military facilities, landed planes and bombers, and installed missiles on three islands that were within or very close to the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, one of which has been declared by a UN Arbitration Tribunal as legally belonging to the Philippines.
Again, Vietnam last week issued a strongly worded statement asking China to withdraw its military equipment from South China Sea outposts, saying their deployment seriously violates Hanoi’s sovereignty, increases tension, and destabilizes the regional situation.
Vietnam’s protestation came after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force announced last week that it recently organized multiple bombers such as the H-6K to conduct takeoff and landing training on islands and reefs in the South China Sea in order to improve its ability to “reach all territory, conduct strikes at any time and strike in all directions.”
It was an official admission by China of its militarization of the South China Sea, in violation of a pledge made by Chinese Xi Jin-ping to then US President Barack Obama that China will never militarize the sea, an important maritime sea lane where thousands of ships from all over the world pass yearly and an area crucial to the maintenance of the balance of power and stability in the region.
China’s foreign ministry said China has irrefutable sovereignty over the Spratlys and that necessary defensive deployments were for national security needs and not aimed at any country.
Asked about the report, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a regular news briefing: “We’re well aware of China’s militarization of the South China Sea. We’ve raised concerns directly with the Chinese about this and there will be near-term and long-term consequences.”
And how did the Philippine government react to this blatant assault on Philippine sovereignty and security?
“You cannot let them leave. Why fight with them?” said Duterte, who has shown his personal preference for China over longtime ally US from Day One of his presidency and who has no qualms about saying, “I love President Xi Jin-ping.”
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque could only say, “With our recently developed close relationship and friendship with China, we are confident that those missiles are not directed at us.” Oh, yeah, tell that to the Marines.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Cayetano is not saying much, insisting that the administration would continue to focus on cooperation and diplomacy, given the complexities of the situation.
But contrary to the President’s assertion that “assertive” can only be expressed in military terms, Inquirer columnist John Nery correctly pointed out that the government has other options: “forceful diplomacy; close collaboration with allies such as Australia, Japan, and the United States; renewed partnership with Indonesia, Vietnam, and other allies in Asean; the strategic use, as former national security adviser Roilo Golez suggests, of what is called “lawfare”; not least, the use of presidential rhetoric directed against Beijing.”
It seems, however, that Duterte will continue to rely on his personal prejudice against the US and European nations and his personal feelings towards Xi Jin-ping and China in his misdirected foreign policy. While foreign policy is the prerogative of the President, as the leader of the Filipino people, he still has to consider what the Filipinos’ side is in this controversy.
While he trusts China 100-percent, Filipinos have repeatedly shown overwhelming distrust for China in surveys after surveys. Shouldn’t he, as the leader of Filipinos, start listening to the people?
Former Foreign Secretary Alberto del Rosario, who led the filing of the arbitration case against China that the Philippines won, says he should. “Our government needs to listen to its people. Our northern neighbor needs to listen to the Filipino people. And finally, all our traditional partners and friends—who are waiting for a united voice—need to hear from us.” Del Rosario said as he urged all Filipinos to ask President Duterte to be more proactive and assertive in defending the country’s territory.
“As a reminder, the Philippine Constitution mandates our president to defend what is lawfully ours,” he added.
But it seems the President is not ready to listen to the people’s voice. He’d rather just listen to his own voice. After all, wasn’t he himself who said that China’s president Xi Jinping had personally assured him of protection from ouster? Maybe the subservient Duterte has forgotten that the late President Marcos enjoyed full protection from the US during his strongman rule, but was dropped like hot potato when the people revolted against him.
(valabelgas@aol.com)