Asian Wisconzine Section/Heidi M. Pascual
Are We Gambling the Filipinos’ Future in South China Sea?
Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has decided to choose the United States side in the present China-US power struggle in the South China Sea. Unlike his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos made it clear that he is not willing to cede any part of the Philippines to China.
As we all know, the People’s Republic of China has occupied a lot of small islands (and reclaimed several) in the South China Sea, ignoring the 2016 ruling of the International Arbitration Court that China’s claim to most of the South China Sea was illegal.
Despite repeated diplomatic complaints against China’s aggressive behavior towards Filipino fishermen fishing within the Philippine Economic Zone and the Philippine Coast Guards monitoring the safety of our people and the security of our legal boundaries, China has remained deaf to our concerns. China has installed military installations in the area and has gradually made a clear preparation for the invasion of Taiwan, which mainland China claims as a renegade province and must be reunited with PRC even through force.
I have long believed that China’s occupation of most of the South China Sea — despite opposition from claimant countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei — was focused on two basic reasons: invasion of Taiwan and exploitation of rich oil and gas resources in the area,
Marcos even went to Beijing recently to personally talk to China’s president, Xi Jinping to peacefully and legally resolve our major concerns in South China Sea, but instead, more aggressive and confrontational actions by China Coast Guards against their Filipino counterparts have ensued in these contested waters.
So Marcos decided to accept the United States’ assistance to strengthen our soldiers and join US allies in military exercises — a move to show China that Filipinos simply want to have a strong military able to defend our country against illegal incursions. In addition, US military bases were allowed to come in via the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) under the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the US which was never abrogated since the 1950s.
China has issued stern warnings to the Philippines that it will be in the middle of a looming armed conflict if the US aid Taiwan should China invade the latter because of EDCA sites manned by US troops, most of which face Taiwan. Marcos made it clear, though, that those sites will not be used for any offensive action but mostly for assistance to defend our country and to help Filipinos in distress during calamities.
With all these marine military exercises by China on one hand, and the US and its allies on the other hand, I am afraid war is looming around us. I am sure that the US will be forced to use EDCA sites if and when it is necessary, and the Philippines — by virtue of the “mutual” nature of such agreement — will be a major participant in any military conflict between China and the US.
Are we gambling the Filipinos’ future by the decision of our president to side with the US? I don’t think so. If China were allowed to continue occupying our islands, we Filipinos must be ready to fight. We cannot do this on our own. China is the Goliath of our region. We’re simply the David whose slingshot may harm the giant, but with lots of help from his allies, we may be able to put this giant to eternal rest.
