“The greatest proof of our blind loyalty is we readily join the war to keep the imperialist booty from being snatched by an incoming Japanese imperialist power”
The Philippines is actually the one fulfilling the role of an ally that will come to the defense of the US.
Perhaps, this is the only country that paid dearly in blood for all the wars initiated by the US.
First, the Philippines was the first to be colonized by the US in Asia, and that allowed it to qualitatively evolved as an imperialist power and forced us to sacrifice more than a million of our men to the defense of freedom for our budding republic during the Philippine-American War in 1899.
The greatest proof of our blind loyalty is we readily join the war to keep the imperialist booty from being snatched by an incoming Japanese imperialist power.
We dearly fought in defense for the touted promise of independence despite the enormous devastation to property and toll to human lives.
Thus, from a defender of the American brand of democracy, we substituted our freedom by adding the color to it such that we how have a system of paraplegic democracy and being a pariah to the whole world.
It is for this why the country opted to delay our independence with all the grandiose freedom and democracy promised by our colonizers.
We paid dearly in blood and humiliation to keep up to our role as America’s most trusted ally in this part of the globe.
Today, we are about to enter a new era of friendship with our former colonizer with son of our former president announcing to the whole world that his administration will follow a policy of being “a friend to all and an enemy to nobody.”
In a way, the slogan is fitting, for it speaks of the truth that the Philippines is the only country in Asia that never transgressed the sovereignty of any nation and truly qualifies to be a friend of all.
Bearing this in mind, many of those who listened to the speech of the President before the UN general assembly were appalled to hear him say that “the Philippines, without the US as an ally, is inconceivable.”
It seems the whole of the nation’s idealism caved in with him.
Such statement is beyond comprehension for it was barely three decades when he and his family, including his father who represented the symbol of the country’s freedom, were virtually imprisoned and threatened with blackmail to cough up with millions as ransom by the enemies of the state, and now a seeming ally of the US.
They were joined by Malaysia in fighting a separatist movement supported as usual by the US and UK after reneging the lease agreement for the return of Sabah to the Sultan of Sulu. It was our historical and tested alliance that first sold us to the devil, so to speak.
As to our alleged differences with China in the South China Sea, we must not forget that the complaint was first initiated and filed by an American citizen who was appointed as our secretary of foreign affairs.
The Permanent Arbitration Court acted in our favor without considering whether China would submit to its jurisdiction and honor the decision.
Rather, the PAC awarded the whole of South China Sea to all the countries littoral to the South China Sea which many consider as abstract.
Yes, we won in that decision, but what have we got in return for the $375 million fees we paid for the litigation conducted by the PAC ex parte.
To date, the decision today remains unenforceable. It is this loophole that now allows the US navy the freedom of navigation to violate the Strait of Taiwan.
To make things worse, secretary of foreign affairs Teodoro Locsin, Jr. unleashed his coup d’ grace by abrogating the joint agreement for oil and gas between the Philippines and China.
The defunct joint agreement rectified the lopsided agreement of 90-10 sharing in favor of the Western oil companies back to 60-40 provision as per our Constitution.
Locsin decided to scrap the agreement with the Philippines accusing China of unduly delaying the agreement without pointing out to any specific violation to warrant the cancellation, citing a case of rebus sic stantibus under international law.
Nonetheless, as the country’s PNOC was dealing with China’s CNOOC, we failed to mention that we subcontracted to other foreign and private oil companies engaged in service contract designated to China’s CNOOC.
Many suspect that is purposely seeking to create a conflict between the Philippines and China to strengthen its position in this country like beefing up its military bases here, and justifying its presence in the South China Sea, admitting that China is an existential threat to the US.
As said, the US continues to use most of its allies in Asia as pawns in the region, envisioning the possibility to divert war from taking place in its own territory and support of its allies to engage in a game called proxy war.
This posturing of the US has become viable by twisting the ideological line of the CPP, NDF and NPA to exacerbate hatred against the government it now suspects to be enjoying the support of China for most of economic and developmental projects.
In fact, the increased number of US bases through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with a threat of putting up a naval base to replace the abandoned US naval base at Subic has kept alive doubts whether the son will remain true to the ideological guidance that catapulted his father as a leading pillar in the Group of 77 Nations.
There is much doubt that whoever the elected president is will forever remain steadfast to securing the country’s independence without assistance from the US.
Lately, the USS Tripoli, a landing assault ship docked at Manila Bay to participate in the coming Exercise Kamandag or “Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma Mula sa Dagat” (Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea) from Oct. 3 to 14.
The Exercise will be participated in by the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) and US Marine Corps. Troops from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) will also join the drills.
The exercise will test the interoperability and cooperation, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).
Many political analysts insist that the sale of US arms and weapons to the Philippines and the participation of countries outside of the geo-political grouping is telling that the area is not really designed to assure allied victory for the allied countries and to ensure their participation in a proxy activity carried out by the Exercise Kamandag or “Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma Mula sa Dagat.”
In the event of conflict, it is not victory that the allies seek to achieve but more of assurance that profit will continue to flow into the US arms industry.
Everybody knows that in the event of war with China, the US will be fighting a losing war, and all that the US arms traders expect is to make a breakeven to prevent the war from spilling over to regions they consider as their impregnable defense.
That is the table set by the US which is to confine the damage and destruction to countries in Southeast Asia.
(rpkapunan@gmail.com)