ON DISTANT SHORE
By Val G. Abelgas
Chinese-occupied Mischief Reef (Panganiban Reef)
China has been bullying the Philippines over their dispute on some islets and reefs in the West Philippine Sea for decades now, and it is obvious the country’s leaders have not figured out how to stop the bullying. The Chinese have in the past few weeks intensified its bullying, and it seems our leaders are hoping strong words would scare them away, or worse, they are hoping the country would outgrow the bullying just as a scared kid would. And lick the wounds later.
Unfortunately, what’s at stake here is not just wounded pride but the very future and security of the country. The disputed islands are less than 200 miles away from the country’s shores and having a hostile and reckless next-door neighbor would definitely pose a very serious threat to the Philippines’ security.
By allowing the Chinese to occupy the islets and reefs that are “rightfully ours,” as President Aquino described them in his State-of-the-Nation Address, the country is virtually surrendering its sovereignty, thereby slowly losing its rights over vast oil and gas deposits and the rich fishing grounds in the area. Once the Chinese have succeeded in their evil desires in the West Philippine Sea, what’s to stop them from claiming and taking Palawan, too, or perhaps the entire Philippines?
There is no doubt that the Chinese are ready to use force to push their invalid claim over the disputed islands, because there is no other way they can legally occupy them. The Chinese know they cannot win a case before an international court because those islands are within the country’s 200-mile economic zone and well within the Philippines’ jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). That’s why they refuse to bring the case for arbitration before any international body.
The Chinese used force twice to settle disputes with former ally Vietnam over the Paracel Islands, killing scores of Vietnamese soldiers in the process. In 1974, Chinese troops killed 74 Vietnamese military personnel during an armed conflict that resulted in China occupying the Paracels. In 1988, the Chinese gained control of the Johnson Reef in the Spratlys Islands Group after a naval battle that resulted in the death of 70 Vietnamese soldiers. At least the Vietnamese can claim with pride that they stood up to a bully.
In 1995, China built structures in the Mischief Reef, which is well within the Philippines’ 200-mile economic zone, but apparently the country’s leaders let it go. There was peace and quiet for sometime until March 2011 when Chinese vessels harassed a Philippine oil exploration ship in the Reed Bank, which was well within Philippine territorial waters. The Philippines also protested the firing of warning shots at Filipino fishermen and the laying of buoys by the Chinese in Philippine-claimed islets.
But the Chinese ignored the protests and in April this year, sent frigates to stop a Philippine Coast Guard vessel from arresting Chinese poachers and seizing their illegal catch near the Scarborough Shoal. Since then, the Chinese have repeatedly provoked the Philippines by sending Chinese battleships and providing naval escorts to fleets of Chinese fishermen illegally hauling protected corals and sea turtles.
These provocations were capped with a declaration by the Chinese that it is claiming a small island in the Kalayaan Group, renaming it into Sansha City, and that it would build a military garrison on the island. The intent was, of course, to establish physical and military presence in the disputed territories to further boost its claim.
Amid all these provocations, all that the Philippine leaders could do was lodged protests that are blatantly ignored by the Chinese and unheeded by the UN. The Philippines did not send even a token opposition to the latest provocations, as if signaling surrender to the Chinese.
Even in the diplomatic front where it is expected to show more aggression, the Philippines meekly surrendered to Chinese bullying in the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. While Foreign Secretary uttered strong words by protesting China’s “duplicity and intimidation,” the country has not even made a move to bring the case before the United Nations. After threatening for months to bring the dispute to international courts, not a single case has been filed.
By their inaction, Philippine leaders are slowly losing its valid claim by default.
Despite being the closest to the disputed islands, the Philippines occupies only nine islets in the Spratlys Group, with military presence and civilian population on Pag-asa island, the second largest in the group.
China occupies only seven in the Spratlys, but occupies all of the Paracels Group. Vietnam occupies 20 islets in the Spratlys, the most by the claimants. Taiwan occupies Taiping, the largest island in the Spratlys, and has a military garrison and an airstrip on the island. It said it would deploy long-range artillery in its garrison. Malaysia occupies three islands in the Spratlys, while Brunei does not occupy any island.
The country cannot afford to lose its claims over these island groups. They are simply too close to the country and can pose a serious security threat if occupied by hostile countries. Neither can the Philippines afford to lose access to the rich oil and gas reserves and the vast fishing grounds in the area.
The country has to have a firm short-term and long-term plan to assert its claim. The bullied has at least four options – stand aside, stand his ground, call his bigger brother to protect him against the bully, or bargain with the bully. Which one will it be?
The Soviet Union tried this maneuver on Uncle Sam once.The USSR was attempting to install several ballistic missiles battery in Cuba when US intelligence figured out what they were attempting to do. Cuba is approximately 90 or so miles from the state of Florida. President Kennedy knew this can’t happen, especially on his watch. He knew something had to be done and he told the Soviet that they must remove their missile bases from Cuba or there will be consequences. Of course Nikita stomp his Soviet feet and says no way. But Kennedy, I guess had a set of bigger kahoneys and sent his navy and blockaded the Soviets ships and told them to turn around and haul all those missiles back to Russia. What is happening now between us and China is almost identical, the Chinese are also inching themselves closer to our shores, slowly setting up small military bases and probably loading it up with powerful weapons systems that can kick our military up to kingdom come. The only difference is that we don’t have shit, unlike the US during the Cuban Missile crisis. So I think now is the time for Pnoy and his merrymen to get on their knees and beg the UN to intervene before it’s too late. I really don’t have much confidence on the UN, but it’s better than confronting the Chinese militarily for which we will surely loose.
Greedy China will not bargain. The Chinese want the rich fishing ground and the vast oil/gas deposits and they will never agree to a UN or any other arbitration. They are bullying the Philippines because they know her to be militarily weak to resist aggression. The RP has but one choice: stand her ground like the Vietnamese did. Should the Chinese make the mistake of invading RP territory, the Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S. will come into play. Uncle Sam cannot afford to lose those enormous energy resources to the Chinese which is what will happen if the wimpy Aquino government continue to play the bullied and scared schoolboy. Run to big brother for help, because that is the only way the RP can win a shooting war against China. The RP can then give Kuya Sam exploration rights and both countries will benefit. It may be a lopsided deal but again, the RP has no choice because it has neither the technical know how nor the deep pockets of Kuya Sam.
Stand your ground you milquetoasts– you poor excuses for national leaders! PNoy must show his bosses and the world that he is Ninoy’s son and not Mama Cory’s boy!
The Filipinos are up-to-date regarding the “Made in China” boycott, diplomatic protests (served or unserved?) for UN attention while China physically pursued its gradual illegal possession of PHL territory in the West Pacific and the Spratly.
We have zero knowledge regarding Military plans or actions.
Good, if military strategy is kept in secret, ready to strike any time.
Bad, if no preparations/strike actions plans up to this point.
Why not convene a Council of State (consists of current president, ex-presidents and others) for major consultation?
Beg Uncle Sam for help IS the only option. For one UN is nothing but an old dysfunctional organization with no teeth. Besides, NATO its military arm is mostly composed of the US military leading its operations.
I will add my comment friends (kabayan).
I realize now its parralel to the Cuban crisis. It is sad that we have no power to stop this greed. I know who we Filipinos are. We will only act if China pulls the trigger strong on us. But we will not pull the trigger. I am reminded now that when Japan bombed the ships at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese military knew they have no match to the U.S., military might having awakened a sleeping giant. They were right when the U.S. bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities of Japan with two “big bombs.” Just two drops and the war was over. We know we cannot do that of course for these stolen treasures. C’mon, people, be real. These “treasures” are already gone and ours (Philippines) is just posturing, more of the usual Filipino form rather than the “substance” if this issue because our leaders do not do anything proactive. No Senator will ever write a law to bomb the islands, or do a blockade of the sea lanes, or do some military action. Someone should. At least, I would like to see the David’s in us. We have no able-bodied submarine to use. But we can hit it with a good strike like the Japanese did on Pearl Harbor. Those jet fighters we are buying from South Korea could do this job. And then our warb planes could go back to mainland in Clark or Palawan since we have no aircraft carrier. We should lease one from the U.S.(oops, we have no money, lol) That will be fun if we can. We can fight the Chinese guys for all we know. Japan fought America and caused good damage. Yes, we can. Believe me, no country wants to go to a full scale war. This will not be. If our NPAs and our Muslims could pester us for life, we could do the same to the Chinese on this matter. We will all be gone, and the next generations of Filipinos will still be blaming us for not having done what’s doable in our time, fight to this Chinese Day of infamy “ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo” Find me at http://www.taxwork.com. See you on the “deck,” We need a Napoleon.
stand our ground …’ang mamatay nang dahil sa iyo’… maybe neighbors like vietnam, taiwan, australia, some of which China have bullied and lynch in the past may join to form a solid front and find China’s achilles heel. big brother should come to the rescue before China get hold of the rich oil resources and used it against US in an all out war. Battle of the Bulge was won because Americans discovered that the big, seemingly vulnerable tanks of the Germans consumes enourmous amount of gasoline. The american’s smaller tanks consumes less. Choke the gas line and you could win the war. If China is left to control the oil reserves in the disputed islands. US may have difficulty winning an all out war with China. It better act, get involved with every reason the mutual defense act would allow them. while China may be rich to a point where US is indebted to them. US still controls the market that gives income to China’s products. Even if indebted to China, if US controls the market and the oil supply in the spratlys, China won’t prevail. Waiting too long can weaken US position as well as the rest of it allies. Certainly there will surface China’s weakness. We just need to stand our ground. Somehow somewhere there can be a weakness enought to cause us to win. Also Mac Flores is right. .Convene a council, brainstorm start searching for China’s weakness instead of its bullying strenght. Let’s discover our own strength. we have good neighbors that China have aggrieved in the past. We can join hands. We have a big brother but most we have ourselves.
Pinoys must fight to the last man standing.
What is the use of surviving when you have no honor and be a weakling that can be used, coerced, intimidated, stomp on and disregarded for being nothing. If North Vietnam succeeded in defeating the mighty US and France inspite of being small and poor, Pinas can do it too, by fighting the guerilla type fighting. All it is needed is for all Pinoys to stick together and fight China in any way it can. Ang isang maliit na bagay a nakakapuwing and make someone suffers and become disabled, Pinas can do that. Act now not later. Action is not being a NATO guy” No Action Talk Only guy.”
Ano ang ginamit ng mga Vietnamese to fight the French and Americans and WON?, itak, sibat, sumpit, and booby traps all made of bamboos. Pinas must manufacture AK47 guns and lots of bullets NOW. We have lots of bamboos to kill the Chinese. Pinas must start drafting all the young men and women now and start training them to kill the Chinese. Pinas must deport all Chinese loyal to China. The most important weapon the Vietnamese used to win is their unity and unwavering attitude to WIN, NO MATTER WHAT.
Alberto, as a Vietnam veteran, I just want you to know that the US did’nt loose the war in Vietnam. We actually lost the war at home because of the constant barrage of demonstration against the war, then a traitor by the name of Jane Fonda went and embraced the enemy and even made the life of POW’s cooped up in Hanoi Hilton even harder. Do you really think that we have a chance of beating the Chinese if we are to confront them militarily? Common on, one of the reason why we are in this sorry ass situation because of our inability to think clearly, always thinking of our pride which is’nt really much anymore and with total loss of common sense, there’s really not much we can do at this point.
Mang Alberto,
Makinig kayo kay Katotong Noah. Wala tayong laban sa mga Intsik. Hindi uubra ang itak natin sa mga kanyon nila. Ang solution dito ay ang mga kano. Sila lang ang makakatulong sa atin. Kaya, let’s tell em: “Y’all come on back, Joe. Saklolo! Eto na ang mga Beho.”
Surely, the Kanos will come running. Kasi maraming chicks ang naghihintay sa kanila sa Angeles at Olongapo.
hahahaha! Ugaling Pilipino nga naman..minsan nakakairita, minsan nakakatawa! sabi nga nila It’s more fun in the Philippines!!!kakaiba ugali ng Pinoy..
I said before and I will say it again–the war of words on Spratly is just a camouflage for a bigger ambition of China which is to take over Palawan and Mindanao. She has many mouths to feed and this area will provide the food resources she is salivating for. If RP shows any weakness, we will be the Tibet of SE Asia. The sooner we boycott their lousy, poor-quality and toxic Chinese products, the sooner will they understand that thay just cannot trample on the Filipinos because they are more numerous and stronger militarily. Boycott Chinese goods, as Americans are waking up to their sleazy practices, and spread the word to the rest of the free world that these barbarians do not deserve a place in the peaceful and respectful community of nations.
Tayong mga Pinoy/Penoy magaling lang sa pataasan ng ihi. Proof of that are the high-faluting, hoity-toity comments here.
Let’s organize a guerilla attack on the Chinese in these island. Even the mighty US of A has no match to the Vietnamese guerilla tactics. And let’s line up all the taipans in the Philippines and make their millions or billions pay for such an operation. Perhaps Tom Cruise can help… mission impossible. Better than licking the coat tails of americans again. It will always have a trade off and it will cost us much more than Chinese occupying these territories. Not bad at all if the cost is US Statehood then we also get rid of weaklings in government.
MMission, you really need to get your head out of your ass before citing things you probably don’t know much about. That’s the problem with us Filipinos, we always have this attitude that our pride will always be our salvation. It may have been true at some point or another but right now confronting the Chinese with just our pride will be our own demise. I don’t know if you have any military background or not but I do. I spent 20 years in the US Army and I had two tours in Vietnam and the US did not lose that war. Pressures from the American people was the main reason why the American forces left Vietnam, not because we were losing the war. Recently, a high ranking North Vietnamese general made a statement that if the US did not withdraw from Vietnam, the North Vietnamese would have eventually surrendered. The sudden withdrawal by the US plus the fact that the South Vietnamese government was in total chaos made it easier for the North to accomplish their goal.
Spell mayabang. M – A – Y – A – B – A – N – G!!!
bow…
“I hate Chinese, they are Greedy” here we go again. When you can’t come up with something constructive, you always go with spiteful comments. Do you still think that boycotting Chinese products will stop them from taking over part of our supposed territory? Handa ka na bang ibigay ang buhay mo para ipagtanggol and inang bayan? Come on, last time I replied to your comments I asked you if you feed all the poors, paid for their tuition and convinced all our kababayans to quit polluting both our atmosphere. Have you done any of it? Go ahead, tell everyone what our government should do to convince the Chinese to stop what they’re doing, pack their bags and go home. Puro yabang ka din pala, alam mo ba na pag pinukpuk mo ng malakas ang walang lamang drum, malakas ang tunog, tulad mo din, malakas lang sa salita dahil walang laman ang bungo mo.
We are like mosquitos hovering around a carabao or a small dog barking to a big dog gnawing a bone. Why not send all our fishermen to those Islets and fish? If those chinese will harm them, then we have to report to uncle Sam. Just like a kid reporting a bully to their parents then will see what happen.
I agree with ROY’s suggestion.
This is to assert PHL right to fish within our territory.
They should be legitimate ordinary fisher folks who regularly fish within our area for livelihood. Their right to livelihood should not be denied to them just because of an intimidation from a squatter.
It is up to the Foreign Affairs department whether to inform or not inform the Chinese ambassador to the PHL.
the fact is, pnoy is not solving anything by his mantra of diplomatic approach with the chinese. well, how can we ordinary people send a strong voice to pnoy when he portrays himself to be a weak leader. people is starting to suspect what lutong macau is he cooking up with the chinese, being a chinese mestizo himself. are we really his “boss” or is he making a busabos out of us. ano ba talaga ang plan of action against the perceive enemy the chinese? wala siyang binanggit sa sona kundi ang pagdadagdag ng budget pambili ng armas. masaya na naman ang mga middlemen/ agents/ contractors/ suppliers most of them have chinese surnames. president pnoy your “boss” the filipino people is waiting for a national summit to chart the action plan on this creeping invasion of the country. dapat nasa war mode na tayo kasi may undeclared war na ang mga intsik laban sa pilipinas. kung hindi pa ninyo alam ito ay dapat wag na kayong magtagal sa posisyon ninyo kasi you and your merry men have lost all the moral grounds to lead the country. dapat nasa top ten ng national issues ang bagay na ito at hindi nalalagay sa top secret ng confidential files. walang malinaw na signal na nanggagaling sa malacanang that they are seriously tackling the problem. wala po sa armas na mapamuksa ang saysay ng digmaan. nasa damdamin ng bawat pilipino na panalo na sila sa anumang gyera ang ikatatagumpay ng digmaan. prepare our body, heart, soul, mind and spirit first and the armaments will follow. you will know that these (second hand battleships complete with cannons) will not be given by other countries grudgingly, it may even be for free. that’s god’s way.
at bakit po mananalo sa spiritual front ang mga filipino? tingnan po ninyo ang lahat ng propaganda machines ng mga intsik, kahit pa nga sa youtube lang, intimidation ang kanilang tema. to subscribe to the idea in the art of war, to bring down an enemy without firing a single shot is the greatest victory in war. tayo malamang hindi pa nagpapaputok isa man lang kanyon ang intsik ay mukhang marami na ang nakataas ng white flag. una daw ay yaong nagsasabi na war veterans sila. no, hindi handa ang mga intsik na gamitin nila ang mga sundalo nilang kung magmartsa ay nagpraprancing. pangshow off lang po yun. ika nga for entertainment only. ang kailangan na po ngayon natin ay yaong paghahanda ng filipino soldiers who are willing and prepared to go and battle with the enemy. sabi nga ni macarthur he only needs one million filipino soldiers to conquer the world. magkaroon pa sana ng another one million reserve army, now is the time to sign up for that. at dapat nagkakaisa ang bansang sumusuporta sa kanila morally and spiritually. yan po ang unang kailangan, at ang armas ay susunod na lang pagmarstahin muna sila sa quirino grandstand kahit wala pa silang dalang armas kundi lakas ng loob kung wala pa silang madadalang baril (pero alam ko meron naman marami pa kasing loose firearms).
so tingnan natin kung ano ang sasabihin ng mundo, di ba’t: tunay ngang may “balls” ang mga filipino! pray tell me if i’m wrong.
Pareng Rey,
Ang “balls” ng mga Pinoy, gagawin lang Penoy Balut ng mga Intsik at ititinda sa mga shopping malls nila.
Dahil ang Pinas ay naging “Armpit” na ng Asia. Yan ang tingin ng mundo sa Motherland. Ang power natin natitira is the kili-kili power na lang … PERO sa pataasan ng ihi, numero uno pa rin tayo.
Kaya lusob, mga katoto, lusob, ihi diyan, ihi dito, talunin natin si Beho sa panghi at baho.
sana realistic din ‘yan sagot mo pare. kung may filipino na payag gawin na penoy balut ang balls nila at itinda pa sa malls ng intsik ako hindi at never. pero palagay ko mas marami ang payag kung unang papayag si pnoy. ewan ko naman kung payag siya, ang alam ko maraming baril at kabarilan yun na mauunang mamatay bago mangyari ang sinasabi mo.
yung sa armpit ng asya, alam mo malaki ang asya pero may mga bansa sa asya na hindi pa nagagawa ang nagawa ng mga filipino. yung edsa revolutions napatalsik ang dalawang presidente. may nagpa-exile na isang presidente at naipakulong ang dalawang dating presidente. naimpeach ang isang cj. at iba pa. so kung armpit ang pag-uusapan malamang pananaw mo lang pare. may iba pang bansang mas qualified kesa pinas.
tungkol sa ihi, mas maganda nga kung totoo ‘yan. at magawa lang natin na ilabas ang pinanggagalingan niyan sa harap ng chinese embassy at sabay-sabay umihi ay bibigyan kita ng napakalaking paghanga, kasi ikaw ang original na nakaisip niyan.
salamat po sa magandang kaisipan. sincere ito at walang halong biro.
Pareng Rey, Pareng Jesse is just being sarcastic, and who would’nt be. Our country is on the brink of collapse and the Filipino people are so oblivious to notice what is really happening to our country. The Filipino people need to get their shit in order and better do it soon before it’s too late. China is inching themselves closer to our mainland and the people are more concern about all those TV shows that does nothing but humiliate them on national television. Baguhin na natin ang pag-iisip natin at napagiiwanan na tayo ng panahon.