The unexpected criticism by former President Fidel Ramos on the first 100 days of President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte’s performance in office, calling it a “huge disappointment and a letdown,” reduced him to “a square peg in a round hole.” He proved to all that he can never be a good team player in the administration. This I say for even if President Duterte has his shortcomings, like his habit of using cuss words, Ramos should not have taken them literally to brand it as the language of uncivilized people.
Besides, Ramos missed the point that it was meant to emphasize that the Filipino people cannot easily forget the savagery of the American colonization of the Philippines at the turn of the century and the incident in Davao City in 2002 as then mayor Duterte investigating Michael Meiring, an alleged CIA agent, was prevented by the FBI after he injured himself with the bomb he was about to distribute to the local terrorists.
Ramos called President Duterte as the man of the 20th century pondering on the past, but ignoring the saying that the country would never be able to move forward if it does not know its past. When President Duterte recalled that dark chapter in our history, how we were ruthlessly subjugated by the so-called mentors of freedom and democracy, he belied the belief that not all is rosy insofar as Philippines-US relation is concerned.
President Ramos should not dwell on nostalgia by asking “Are we throwing away decades of military partnership, tactical proficiency, compatible weaponry, predictable logistics, and soldier-to-soldier camaraderie just like that?” Rather, he failed to appreciate the leverage given him by President Duterte that could accord him wider flexibility in negotiating with China. Besides, the President did not categorically state he would completely cut off our military ties with the US. As special envoy tasked to pursue bilateral talks with China, he should have been more circumspect to interpret the statements of the President to his own advantage as negotiator.
Ramos should have taken the redefinition in our relations with the US in the context that by distancing ourselves from the US orbit, it would usher in productive results in our negotiations with China. The tectonic “paradigm shift in Philippines-US relations” was an indirect signal for him to take advantage of the position taken by President Duterte to achieve the goals of a win-win formula. Besides, Ramos knew that when the Philippines decided to directly negotiate with China, we effectively shelved off the decision rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration to the dismay of the US. Most important, that decision underscores the reason why he was appointed special envoy.
As former president and chief architect in the country’s foreign policy, Ramos should know by heart what constitutes our core interest as an independent and sovereign state. As negotiator, he should be receptive to the changing winds that may affect his position. How he will interpret our alliance with the US against our rapidly warming relations with China, is something he should resolve to allay the reservation of his counterpart in the negotiating table.
For instance, he should accept the fact that the presence of the US military bases in the country is not really for our own protection and security. In fact, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement is now being used as springboard to justify the continued US naval patrol in the South China Sea.
Our agreement to allow the US to have five military bases here all facing the South China Sea is incongruent to our desire to improve relations with China. The US is now using the treaty to justify their continued presence in the region, for which the Philippines appears to be an accomplice to the discredited “Pivot to Asia” policy of President Obama.
Having a negotiator with a Cold War mentality, octogenarian Ramos finds it difficult to have an open mind and maintain a balanced view of the changing geopolitical realities. His mind is deeply embedded in the problem of Philippines-US relation that is drifting away from its axis. Ramos is taking his position to define our policy with China using the outdated template of the Cold War. Instead of emphasizing the new foreign policy thrust of President Duterte, Ramos is attempting to carve his own policy as if to overrule the chief executive.
Because he is running against the current, China now hesitates to lay everything on the table, fearful that Ramos might raise an issue different from the policy direction of the President that banks on the idea of obtaining a win-win solution. This I say because the Chinese could sense they are dealing with a possible proxy whose assignment is to advance the interest of the US in the region but officially setting as the country’s accredited negotiator. Surely, officials in the US State Department now feel that even if the Philippines has decided to trash the arbitration court’s decision, they know they have their man who could pivot their interest in the South China Sea.
As the country’s negotiator specifically tasked to settle our dispute with China, he should focus on his assignment, and not in lamenting the country’s parting relations with the US. That task belongs to Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. What he should do is to synchronize what the President said to accomplish the job he accepted, instead of putting the President in bad light. A veteran diplomat is expected to soften the impact of the statement or exert efforts to assuage things that could result in a diplomatic faux pas.
Perhaps, diplomatic courtesy is restraining China not to openly demand the removal of the US military bases or to urge us not to participate in the provocative patrol in the South China under the guise of assuring the freedom of navigation as their condition for the negotiations. Hence, if Ramos could not take it any longer, he should resign and give President Duterte a free hand to appoint one who will comply to the new foreign policy thrust enunciated by him.
rpkapunan@gmail.com