“Will the new, second effort of the Philippine government to normalize relations with its millennial Asian neighbor, China, hold strong over the months and years ahead?”
THE Blinken-Austin visit for the 2 + 2 diplomatic ritual comes after much doubletalk by Blinken aimed at the recent de-escalation deal between China and the Philippines that has successfully “eased tensions” between the two countries relative to issues concerning contested areas of the South China Sea.
Blinken, in conjunction with the ASEAN summit in Laos, on one hand, criticized alleged “escalating actions” at sea by China when it is the US plot in the first place that created the tensions in the SCS, while hypocritically applauding the Philippines-China de-escalation deal diplomacy.
It must be recalled the tension build-up between China and the Philippines started only in Feb. 2023 when a retired US Air Force colonel, named Raymond Powell, conceived under the auspices of the US Office of Naval Research a “cognitive warfare” operation called “Project Myoushu.”
The strategy enlisted Philippine maritime security and defense forces in an “assertive transparency” operation to challenge a 25-year-old deal with China banning construction materials supplies to a corroding deliberately stranded Philippine Navy ship to boost its claim over the Second Thomas Shoal, as well as areas contested by both countries.
The ‘modus operandi’ was to provoke deterrent or police action from the Chinese Coast Guard like interception of Philippine Coast Guard or hiring of private vessels attempting to smuggle prohibited materials, or attempting to violate fish sanctuaries banned to fishing and other activities for conservation reasons – and carry shiploads of Western and Filipino media to film, report and denounce as “bullying.”
The US Project Myoushu chief, Powell, is quite open in admitting the aim of his operation is “to exact as reputational cost” on China, generate international support for the Philippine cause, both of which have failed as surveys show China is now the preferred ally in Southeast Asian nations and ASEAN countries are, in fact, critical of the Philippines’ unilateral, disruptive activities.
The concern for Filipinos is that while the de-escalation deal may be holding firm at this early stage, it is also still fragile as many elements, foreign and domestic, are continuously besieging it with fake news and disinformation.
The Blinken-Austin visit will be another opportunity for the US to put on the pressure on the Philippines to backtrack from this present de-escalation deal.
The Philippines and China have just restored peace and stability in the areas of the SCS contested by the two countries in a July 21, 2024 “de-escalation” deal that aimed at “easing tensions.”
The deal has led to a July 27, 2024 “successful” Rotation and Resupply mission delivering humanitarian goods like food, water and medicines for the BRP Sierra Madre’s Philippine Marines.
“No untoward incidents were reported,” the DFA said in a statement.
One of the conditions in the deal is the embargo on construction materials that may be used for rebuilding the rust-corroded ship to a Forward Operating Base which the US military has expressed intention to build thereat.
The present “de-escalation” deal is a second one.
The first de-escalation deal was arranged by President Bongbong Marcos with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in San Francisco in Nov. 2023 and processed through to the 8th China-Philippine Bilateral Consultative Mechanism meeting.
The first de-escalation deal capped off the Chinese Embassy’s defense attaché Col. Li and Philippine Coast Guard Adm. Alberto Carlos agreeing in Jan. 2024 “to ease tensions” leading to a peaceful Feb. 2, 2024 RORE mission.
But US proxy Filipino coast guard spokesman, Comm. Jay Tarriela contradicted this and declared more “aggressive assertive transparency” operations.
Instead of honoring the first successful de-escalation and RORE mission, the Department of National Defense and the Philippine Senate humiliated Carlos and his team for making peace.
Now a new de-escalation is being pursued again, affirming the deep desire of 95 percent of the Filipino population to devote the national energy to economic recovery instead of the imagined threat to the national territory.
Will the new, second effort of the Philippine government to normalize relations with its millennial Asian neighbor, China, hold strong over the months and years ahead?
The Filipino public is trying to ensure this will be so.
Protest actions greeted the arrival of Blinken and Austin with shouts of: ‘Blinken-Austin – Get Out, Stay Out!’ (rpkapunan@gmail.com)
