No to Cold War Mentality

The other night I chanced upon a YouTube video interview of President Bongbong Marcos in the “Leaders Talk” program of the Chinese Global Television Network which was conducted immediately after the president’s state visit to China last January 4 to 5.

In the interview, PBBM happily recollected his experience during his first visit to China in 1974 as a 16-year-old first son accompanying his mother, then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, upon the invitation of then Prime Minister Zhou Enlai.

During the planning for the trip, PBBM recalled that they didn’t know what to expect because, at the time, there was very little news coming out of China and the information they had came mostly from the West. But after visiting many places and personally meeting then Chairman Mao Zedong, PBBM said at the end of their trip they realized that the Chinese people were “just like us and there’s no difference.”

This account of PBBM reminded me of the song “Russians” written by Sting (Gordon Sumner) in 1984 at the height of the Cold War when the US and the USSR were in a nuclear arms race with both countries spending billions upon billions of dollars to build up massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons. At the time, too, there was little news coming out of the USSR except from European and US news sources which tended to demonize the Russians as aggressors who were out to destroy the world with their bombs.

Sting revealed his inspiration for writing the song in his 2007 book, Lyrics by Sting: “In this political climate, a friend of mine, who was doing research at Columbia University in New York had a computer system sophisticated enough to intercept the Soviets’

TV signal from their satellite above the North Pole. night in New York City, we could watch Sunday morning programs for kids in Russia. The shows seemed thoughtful and sweet, and I suddenly felt the need to state something obvious in the face of all this rhetoric: Russians love their children just as we do.”

To me, these are very relevant sentiments considering the dispute with China in the matter of the West Philippine Sea. I totally agree with the President’s national defense and foreign policy stance of promoting cooperation in the Asia-Pacific instead of conflict and aggression. The President is right in pacifying the hegemonic tendencies of the US by declining its offer to be a third-party participant in the discussions with China on the WPS as this will only provoke China.

I applaud, too the pronouncements of PBBM rejecting the rhetoric and pressure on smaller countries in the Asia-Pacific to adhere to a Cold War-type scenario where they will have to choose between one superpower over another. We are very fortunate that the President is pro-peace and pro-cooperation. Indeed, there is no such thing as a “winnable war” and there is no victory in resolving conflict through aggressive means.

Warmongers rely on ignorance and prejudices to pursue their objectives. I do not believe that China intends to use force and dominate us in the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea.

China’s claims and actions are mostly rooted in its insecurity with the US and the latter’s naval capability in the AsiaPacific region. Understanding this is the key to building trust between China and the Philippines. It is important to remind China that the Philippines has no intention of playing a part in any game of sea domination among superpowers. In the issue of the West Philippine Sea, we are only after protecting our sovereignty and our right to explore our maritime resources. This is nothing different from China’s own perspective and stance in the South China Sea.

Having direct and open Communication between our leader and coordination with the forces in the area of dispute will definitely help avoid “skirmishes” between our soldiers and fishermen and the Chinese Coast Guard. Both our countries must certainly avoid these issues as they only fan war rhetoric in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ideally, too, as we endeavor to resolve our maritime dispute through peaceful dialogue, China and the Philippines must proceed to explore various areas of opportunity in terms of the economy and culture. For both our citizens to understand and not be biased against each other, we must enhance and promote cultural exchanges and collaborations.

The PDP Laban party initiated this concept several years ago, through the efforts of then President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Alfonso Cusi, when we entered into an agreement with the Communist Party of China focused on augmenting cultural exchanges, student exchanges, language learning programs, tourism, and cultural events promotion, particularly among the youth.

The Cold War mentality type of thinking is outdated, irrelevant, and not beneficial. Our country needs to move away from it, especially in dealing with the maritime dispute with China.

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Warmongers rely on ignorance and prejudices to pursue their objectives.

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The Cold War mentality type of thinking is outdated, irrelevant, and not beneficial.