International pressure

DID China pull out the missiles it in stalled at the South China Sea? The question was raised recently following a CNN report sourced from images from the Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International (ISI) suggesting that China may have either removed its missile system in the area or removed it. China had set up the missile systems in three of its outposts in the South China Sea (Spratlys and the Paracels, also partly claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam).

Images taken previously by ISI on Woody Island in the Paracels showed a number of missile launchers and a radar system on the island’s shores. But images taken on Sunday showed that these have disappeared. China had also previously landed in that island a bomber capable of carrying nuclear-tipped weapons.

These moves were obviously threats to our national security but the Philippine Government looked the other way apparently for fear of antagonizing a neighbor that can be source of loans for its major infrastructure projects. The official line has always been that the Philippines can never win against China in a military confrontation.

If the missiles have been removed (although it could be deployed again in a jiffy in the artificial islands China built there), then there is something that can be said about how international pressure can also be an effective deterrent against a powerful country riding roughshod over territorial claims by smaller and weaker nations.

China is a relatively new global military and economic power and obviously wants a redistribution of spheres of influence currently being held by Western states. It has focused its eyes on the resources-rich South China Sea that traditionally is the playground of the United States, an old imperialist power. But it is apparent also that the West led by the US is not giving up the Pacific to China.

China, given its economic and military might, can actually go for an outright territorial grab and its neighbors especially in southeast Asia, could not do anything much. In a way, that is what the Duterte administration has been harping on since it assumed power. The Philippines is helpless so the only way to go is to befriend the bully.

But times have changed considerably since imperialist powers used military might for a re-division of global spheres of influence that eventually led to World War I and World War II. Many powerful nations now possess weapons that can obliterate peoples when used, thus the fear of mutually assured destruction. Conflicts between nations are being resolved diplomatically or through international pressure.

China has been successful so far in wooing the leadership of some Southeast Asian countries using its economic clout to be able to solidify its hold on the South China Sea. The Philippines is the latest to join other weak countries like Cambodia in crafting a foreign policy that kowtows to China’s designs. That is why the response of the US, the imperialist power that is also the Philippines’ ally, has been muted.

Interestingly, the latest development happened after the US and some European powers like the United Kingdom and France are starting to make their moves against China’s designs in the South China Sea by holding military exercises and sending warships to assert freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

IN THE recent social media post from the Facebook page of Senator Dick Gordon, June 1, he shared that the bill he authored has already been approved by the Senate Committee level. The said bill wants a modification in the sun emblem of the Philippine flag by adding one more ray in it, symbolizing the contribution of the country’s Muslim heroes.

“Adding an additional ray to the sun in the Philippine flag finally properly acknowledges our Muslim brothers and leaders who defended our land against Spanish colonizers before and who today are an essential part of the fabric of our Nation. Our Muslim heroes left an imprint on national history that, at the very least, must be given due recognition in the most heraldic item of national importance,” the Senator’s post said.

This comes timely as with the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) from the Senate and House of Representatives. The struggles of the Filipino Muslims for self-determination and autonomy may have paid off. There might be differences of opinion to the contents of this BBL, however, it is important that this should still aligned with the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro.

Peace and inclusivity, one step at a time.

Ah, that controversial kissing scene by the president in South Korea.

It’s like this: it’s okay to kiss someone, even you asked for it, if the person is consentious of it. It can also be okay if you do it in front of many people. What’s not okay, perhaps, is doing it while actively doing an official function, let alone having a presidential seal in the podium.

But let us not judge the woman, she already said it’s no big deal. The president? He’s too vulgar sometimes. People don’t like vulgarity. Because we like to do it in secrets – open secrets, I think it’s more fun and adventurous, and sometimes kinky in that way.