s
we noted in our previous editorial, the Aquino Administration ended 2015
with yet another characteristic whimper by joining China's Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It made sure it joined at the
very last minute. Reluctantly of course, but with its tail between its
legs, it signed on the dotted line giving Beijing another feather on
it's cap as that country endeavors to become the dominant financial
powerhouse in the region.
By contrast a group of
47 young Filipinos calling themselves Kalayaan Atin Ito braved the
choppy waters of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) to make it to Pag-asa island from Palawan on a small boat in order to show China that
it does not own all of the South China Sea. Their defiance feels like a
breath of fresh air compared to the cowering timid attitude of the
Aquino administration when it comes to standing up to China's bullying.
Sure the country
instituted arbitral proceedings against China with the Hague Tribunal in
January of 2013, contesting the legality of China's 9-Dash Line claim
over most of the West Philippine Sea—a uncharacteristically bold act for
this president. But since then it has shied away from taking any stand
that bolsters its claims to even those Spratly islands that fall within
its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone. Aquino Administration officials
acting like they are scared of their own shadows, have been doing
everything they can to avoid antagonizing the Chinese. Philippine Coast
Guard vessels even tried to stop the Kalayaan Atin Ito group from making
it to Pag-asa. China on the other hand has taken every opportunity to
make it known to Filipinos that they own nothing in the West Philippine
Sea and their presence there is not welcome.
And to make matters
worse, our main ally, the United States, has only lately awoken to the
fact that China has been illegally creating artificial islands that are
readily adaptable to military use. For over a year, U.S. President Barak
Obama had stuck his head in the sand pretending nothing was going on in
the West Philippine Sea. Only after China's illegal activity became so
blatantly obvious, did Obama begin his belated saber-rattling. U.S. Senator
John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee noted that
the Obama administration was “either unable to manage the complexities
of interagency national security decision making or simply too risk
averse to do what is necessary to safeguard the rules-based order in the
Asia-Pacific.”
In fact, during the
3-month standoff between the Philippines and China over Scarborough
Shoal in 2012, the Obama administration did pathetically little to
bolster support for the Philippines. And Aquino for his part did not
even bother soliciting the support of other world leaders.
With Aquino's term in
office coming to an end, the Filipino electorate must choose it's next
president very carefully. The country is in dire need of a leader who
has the guts to stand up to the Chinese instead of cowering in fear. A
president who can talk to friends and allies and convince them of the
correctness of our cause. A statesman who can rally others to our side and
tell the Chinese that they can no longer push us around.
Remember the words of U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower who said:
"History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the
timid."
So let us all take our
cue from the brave young men and women who sailed to Pag-asa to let
their countrymen and the world know that there are Filipinos who will
not take China's illegal aggression and intimidation sitting down. And
no matter how weak or ill-prepared, they will stand proud and fight for
what rightfully belongs to the Philippines, based on international law. Published 1/11/2016 |