There is nothing to celebrate in hitting a target In Laur, Nueva Ecija which is 600 kilometers away from Tacloban City where the Tomahawk missile was launched. In fact this is fomenting anxiety given the recent armed conflict in the Middle East where modern weapons of mass destruction rained among protagonists.
The Philippines is Jurassic in terms of weapons, preparedness and sustainability in a protracted war. The country lies heavily and hopelessly in the United States of America and the Marcos government opened our territory to nine EDCA bases all over the country. All, a veritable beacon and target for hellish destruction.
It may have been this stark reality that then President Rodrigo Duterte an independent foreign policy guided by a dictum: “Friend to all, enemy to none” to address the Philippines relations with superpowers like the United States of America, China and Russia.
When Pres. BongBong Marcos took over the helm of the government he pursued exactly the same dictum in his foreign policy but not until he opened the country to nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) bases in the Philippines. These, after he met US President Joe Biden in his first foreign trip after swearing in as President. The EDCA bases are described as joint launching sites of rescue and recovery missions in times of calamities however despite several disasters nothing is felt and seen in terms of response. EDCA is actually for maritime security and US troops access to modernize the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Let’s not go around the bush. This is all about the West Philippines Sea and Scarborough which we lost to China when the late President Noynoy Aquino withdrew the occupational Coast Guard Forces from that atoll.
The establishments of EDCA bases is contradictory and a radical shift from the previous dictum of the Duterte administration: “friend to all, enemy to none”. Disputes during the Duterte presidency is always settled in bilateral talks while Marcos and his ilks are saber-rattling.
As if we have not learned from the Middle East war, we displayed how our AFP can hit a target in Nueva Ecija and childishly clapped hands like it’s a big thing. That’s a single tomahawk courtesy of Uncle Sam. That is actually an empty boast. Iran hit targets in various places in the Middle East within and beyond 2,500-kilometer radius. Not one missile but thousands delivered by drones guided by remote control. Now think of China.
The foreign policy that revolves around the dictum “friends to all, enemy to none” which Marcos bunch of advisers totally ignored or probably did not comprehend, is the reality that given our defense assets there is absolutely no chance for the AFP to win a war. AFP boasts that it can sustain a 30-day war. My gosh! The days of fix bayonets are over. The conflict in the Middle East gives us a glimpse of how war is carried out. So stop touting a sleeping dragon for we might have our armageddon this early.
However, by now Marcos must have realized that despite the disputes over the Scarborough China is not the belligerent kind. Take note that Scarborough and the Spratlys are subjects of multiple claims yet there has been no armed conflicts. In the case of Scarborough and West Philippines Sea, disputes had always been settled via bilateral talks. .. under the Duterte leadership. Filipino fishermen were free to fish in the rich marine resources of the South China Sea.
Am not saying this but history will tell us that China will never resort to destabilizing moves in WPS because it is an important export trade route. Based on recorded facts our friendship and trade ties started centuries ago. Sultan Paduka Batara Sulu visited and was received with appropriate honors by Ming Dynasty Yongle Emperor of China, Zhu Di. On his way home Sultan Batara caught an unknown disease as he was heading towards Dezhou in Shandong Province. The illness lead to his death.
Saddened by the demise of Sultan Batara the Emperor ordered a royal burial and ceremonies appropriate for the King. The burial site is located in the Decheng District of Dezhou City in Shandong. Since then the historic site is protected by the Chinese government. I have personally seen the burial grounds which features a mausoleum, temple, and stone figures all dedicated to Sultan Batara.
That piece of historical event is one of the reasons why the Philippines has an avuncular space in the leaders of China. There had been exchanges of visits between the two countries, most especially in Sulu, which account why there are Chinese citizens of Filipino descent in China and so does in the Philippines.
The late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos sent First Lady Imelda Marcos to Beijing to establish diplomatic ties with China and was received personally by Chairman Mao Zedong resulting the formal ties signed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Marcos in June 1975. Imelda beat the US which established diplomatic ties only in 1979.
Fast forward, in 2016 when President Rodrigo Duterte visited China he was accorded a royal welcome so unlike the visit of US President Barack Obama who was not even given a red carpet reception.
These vignettes of ancient and current historical events should explain why China build bridges for free all over the country and why the leadership under Xi Jinping donated billions worth of Sinovac vaccines and personal protective equipment on top of what our government purchased during the pandemic.
It is therefore strange that President BongBong Marcos listened to his diplomatic and defense advisers and some inconsequential subaltern who looks like Jay Tariella discredit and damage the ties between the Philippines and China that his father and mother painstakingly established.
There is an important saying among Chinese from which our leaders can absorb important lessons: “Never ever set your neighbors house on fire”.
This column item is quite long, I will conclude it here trusting that our leaders, for whom this piece is particularly addressed, understand what the adage meant.
