NO ONE CAN STOP CHINA IN SHOAL BUT CHINA /
PH-CHINA DISPUTE WORSENS
MANILA, JULY 21, 2012 (INQUIRER) By: Jose
T. Almonte Former National Security Adviser - No one can stop China from
claiming "indisputable sovereignty" over the West Philippine Sea (South China
Sea)—except China itself or the authoritative power of world opinion.
Short of war, a war nobody wants or would wish, even the United States can
only delay or impede the fulfillment of China's inordinate ambition to gain
sovereign control of 3 million square kilometers of this great inland sea that
is also Southeast Asia's maritime heartland.
This is the strategic context of China's assertive ambiguity in the West
Philippine Sea.
Just now, Beijing can only bluster and intimidate, as it probes for
weaknesses in its rival claimants.
But once China can translate its economic power into military capability
credible enough to challenge that of the United States—when the "time is right"
in China's terms—then the geopolitical configuration in the Asia-Pacific region
will change radically.
And time and circumstances favor China. Analysts say China is likely to
become the world's largest economy in a decade or so.
If they are right, the Philippines has only 10 short years to prepare for
what is likely to become an interesting Asia-Pacific future.
Long-term security
Given the constraints under which it's working, the administration of
President Benigno Aquino has so far done all that could possibly be done, in the
short term, to defend our nation's interests in the West Philippine Sea.
But in this case it's not enough to deal with the immediate problem. Our
nation's long-term security hangs in the balance.
And to ensure our safety, we must look at the root of our nation's security,
which lies in our people—in everyone of us and nobody else.
If our country is to prevail in any challenge, if the Philippines is to
become worthy of respect as a sovereign nation, we must first of all enable our
people to become effective wealth creators.
We must make our country rich enough to enable us to acquire the means to
defend our nation's interests, to protect our people's dignity and honor.
Nationhood infrastructure
To carry out the government's strategies, policies, plans and programs to
grow and develop the nation, we must strive urgently to create the four
conditions necessary for growth and development.
Let us make no mistake, without these, the nation can hardly enforce its
Constitution and its laws, and no development plan can succeed:
1. We must come to terms with ourselves. We must build among us the
infrastructure of nationhood. We must be able to answer the basic question of
who we are.
We must live the core values our forebears fought and died for: Dignity,
honor, freedom, justice, self-determination, hard work, discipline, tolerance,
mutual caring and compassion.
We must become a people at peace with themselves and with the world.
There is nothing our people cannot accomplish, if our identity and the goals
we seek are articulated in terms of the core values taught us by our heroes and
martyrs.
These core values define what is right or wrong for our people. They guide
us, like our heroes and martyrs, to live only when it is right to live, and to
die only when it is right to die.
2. No matter what it takes, we must end our internal wars. Our radical
insurgency is kept alive by our grievous inequality and the elemental injustice
of mass poverty. And both are caused by corruption and misgovernment.
The same is true of our separatist conflict in Mindanao. There popular
frustrations are worsened by rivalries over land and livelihood, and the
situation is complicated by ethnic and religious enmities.
3. We must complete all the land and nonland reforms we still need to do. Not
only will their completion make rebellion, separatism and mutiny irrelevant but
will also accelerate our nation's growth. And, finally, it will unite our
people.
4. We must transfer the power of the few over the state to the people as
citizens. In the World Bank's view, we are a country where state policies and
their implementation serve not the common good but those of special interests.
The capture of the state and its regulatory agencies by vested interest
groups has made our economy the least competitive among comparable economies in
East Asia.
In sum, we must put our house in order. We must level our popular playing
field to grow and develop the nation—and so enable our people to surmount any
challenge.
No luxury of time
As we create the four conditions necessary for growth and development, we
must also carry out our development plans. Given the uncertainties building up
in East Asia, we do not have the luxury of time.
It is the Chinese people's historic sense that is driving their country's
rise. They count their recovery from generations of humiliation at the hands of
the great powers as lasting 150 years starting from the initial European effort
to open up China around 1800.
In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed China had stood up. But China began to recover
economically only after Deng Xiaoping's reforms (1978). In three and a half
decades, China has become the world's second largest economy.
We, too, must tap into our people's sense of nationality—and do no less. By
creating the four conditions necessary for growth and development that I cited
above, and by simultaneously carrying out the government's development plans, we
can change our country—we can modernize it without leaving anyone behind—during
the next 10 years.
By that time, we will also have nurtured the inclusive institutions that will
sustain our people's capacities for wealth creation.
No primrose paths
Let us not delude ourselves. There are no short cuts—no primrose paths—to
growth and development. We must never give up even if our country's rise takes
150 years or more.
We have no choice. The alternative is too dire to contemplate.
We must work together to prevent the situation developing that reduces our
country into a tributary, a vassal, a province of a great power.
Those who sacrificed and died for us and for generations yet to come will
never forgive us if we fail to summon the courage and the will to take the
radical steps toward the Filipino future: To deliberately put in place the four
conditions necessary for growth and development without delay.
FROM THE PHILSTAR
China continues to beef up presence in Panatag Shoal
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated July 21, 2012 12:00
AMComments (0)
[Photo -FISHING IN TROUBLED WATERS In this photo released by China's
Xinhua news agency, a Chinese fishery administration ship (background) guards a
Chinese fishing vessel near Yongshu Reef in the Spratly Islands, in the West
Philippine Sea, on Sunday. A fleet of 30 fishing vessels arrived at the reef
where China has an ocean observatory and will spend 10 days of fishing,
according to Xinhua. AP / XINHUA]
MANILA, Philippines - China continued to beef up its presence in Panatag
(Scarborough) Shoal as about 30 Chinese boats were spotted in the
Philippine-owned area last Thursday, a security official said yesterday.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there were indications
that the Chinese vessels were fishing well within the Philippines' exclusive
economic zone (EEZ).
The number of Chinese vessels was 10 times more than the three ships spotted
in the shoal during a previous monitoring by the government early this month.
"They seem to be continuing their fishing activities. There is really no
fishing ban," the source said.
The information about the presence of Chinese boats was based on a report by
officials monitoring the situation in the area.
The ships were spotted last Thursday, two days after the Russian Coast Guard
apprehended 36 Chinese fishermen and seized two Chinese vessels that entered its
territory.
The Chinese fishermen reportedly tried to fish in the Primorsky region, which
is within Russia's EEZ.
The official declined to provide details as to how many vessels are inside
the Panatag Shoal lagoon.
Previously, however, Chinese fishermen who engaged in illegal fishing in the
shoal were accompanied by government vessels.
When asked why the number of Chinese vessels increased, the source said:
"Perhaps this is due to the lack of deterrents. If there is someone who will
guard the area, they (Chinese fishermen) will think twice before going there."
The Philippines no longer has vessels in the area after President Aquino
ordered the pullout of two local ships last June 15 allegedly due to bad
weather.
These ships – one from the Coast Guard and one from the Bureau of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources – used to symbolize the Philippines' ownership of the
area.
These vessels faced off with Chinese ships that started occupying the shoal
last April. It remains unclear whether Philippine vessels would be redeployed to
the shoal.
In contrast, China maintained its presence in the shoal even though the
Philippines' ownership of the area is backed by international law.
Panatag Shoal is located 124 nautical miles from the nearest base point in
Zambales. The Philippines' ownership of the shoal is backed by the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), of which China is a
signatory.
Both Manila and Beijing support peaceful means to resolve the dispute despite
incidents of bullying by Chinese ships of Filipino vessels and fishermen.
Last June 25, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that the
Philippines and China had reached a verbal agreement to pull out from the lagoon
but not the wider vicinity of the shoal.
China, however, did not honor the agreement as the Philippine Navy reported
the following day that 23 Chinese boats were inside the lagoon.
China, the Philippines, and other Southeast countries are embroiled in a
territorial dispute over areas in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).
Lacson: Keep your mouth shut
As this developed, Senate committee on national defense and security chairman
Panfilo Lacson said that the dispute between the Philippines and China is
worsening and must be stopped immediately by keeping everybody's mouth shut on
the issue.
Lacson said that the situation has gotten from bad to worse because of all
the confrontational statements being issued by both sides.
He said it would be pointless for the government to continue pursuing this
tactic against China, especially since the country cannot possibly match the
other side's military might if ever the situation escalates to a full-blown
confrontation.
He said that bringing the United States into the picture would only worsen
the situation.
Instead of engaging in verbal exchange, Lacson advised the executive branch
to shift its attention to the economic relations between the two countries.
"My suggestion is to set aside the controversial issues and shift our focus
to the economic side. This is what China wants too so let's just focus on this
and nothing else," he said.
Lacson said that seeking the help of other nations on the settlement of the
dispute with China is all right as long as these are not discussed openly in
order to avoid further controversy.
"We can continue talking to the US or the ASEAN (Association of Southeast
Asian Nations) countries or any other country but do this discreetly and not so
openly as if we are flaunting this," he said.
Sen. Francis Escudero agreed that there should be less talk from both sides
in order to avoid a confrontation. – Marvin Sy
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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