Call them Chinese

As expected, President Benigno “Noy” Aquino III renewed his administration’s vow to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). At the same time, President Aquino reiterated his push for more improvements in the benefits being received by each and every man and woman in uniform.

The twin promises were made during the latest change of command of the new Commanding General of the Philippine Army in ceremonies held in its headquarters at Fort Bonifacio. The Commander-in-chief presided the traditional turnover rituals from outgoing Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes to his successor, Maj. Gen. Hernando Iriberri.

Prior to his promotion, Iriberri was commanding general of the 7th Army Infantry Division Command. The new Army chief is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1983. Iriberri beat Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, his closest rival to become the new Army chief. Catapang heads the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) and belongs to PMA Class 1981.

The rivalry of the two generals shifts to the next level as incumbent AFP chief of staff Emmanuel Bautista is set to bow out this coming July under the mandatory age of retirement in the military.

Catapang is said to have the support of his “mistahs” and other key individuals in the government. Iriberri, on the other hand, has the backing of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin with whom he closely worked in the military establishment.

But the commanding generals of the other AFP major service commands are also candidates in the race for the next AFP chief of staff like Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Delfin Delgado. The Army, comprising the bulk of the 140,000-strong AFP, though always has the inside track to the AFP top post.

Speaking before the officers and men of the Army, President Aquino cited his administration has been pushing leaders and members of the 16th Congress for the passage of new law to further improve benefits of the uniformed services. He did not go into details. But among the benefits being sought by the Aquino administration from Congress include pending legislative measures to improve the health, housing, and other retirement benefits in both the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Amid the continuing internal threats and external security challenges that the Philippines faces, the President underscored the need to match the recruitment of additional number of soldiers and policemen. Since 1986, he noted, the number of soldiers and policemen has remained the same despite the doubling of the Philippine population.

In almost a decade before he assumed the presidency, P-Noy calculated only P26.27 billion went to the AFP’s modernization. This was way below the P27.62 billion that his administration has spent so far for the AFP modernization program for the past three years.

P-Noy previously signed the revised AFP Modernization Act, which allocated P75 billion during the first five years of the program. To date, the Philippine Navy has acquired its second Hamilton-class warship under this program partly financed out of its shares from the controversial Malampaya funds to help secure the areas around natural gas field in Palawan.

These two vessels, renamed BRP (Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas) Ramon Alcaraz and the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, were actually acquired under the Excess Defense Article and Military Assistance Program with the United States. The two ships – decommissioned by the US Coast Guard – were retrofitted by the Philippine government for our Navy use.

The first ship, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar, was turned over to the Philippine Navy in May 2011. The second warship arrived in June last year. The two warships are now guarding our coastlines, including the overlapping territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.

Of course, the two refurbished Philippine Navy warships are dwarfed by their counterpart military vessels of China cruising as security escorts to Chinese fishermen in the disputed waters around the West Philippine Sea. They look like mere gunboats when ranged with the Chinese warships. 

While apparently puny compared to the Chinese warships, the size of our two newly refurbished Navy ships is not the measure of our country’s resolve to protect our territorial claims.

This is not to mention the valor and bravery of our men and women in the AFP that more than offset the lack of heavy artillery and military hardware to help them protect our territorial waters from external transgressions.      

We are no military might in this part of the world. This is why we have brought this maritime dispute before an international arbitration court to resolve our claims as protected under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Of course, China insists on its nine-dash-line and refuses to acknowledge the rightful claims of the Philippines over these waters that are within our exclusive economic zone as clearly defined under UNCLOS.

Lately, we find ourselves not alone with our problem with Beijing’s expansionist plans. This was after China announced an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea effective last November 23. Beijing warned its military will take “defensive emergency measures” if any foreign aircraft enter the area without reporting flight plans or identifying themselves.

Japan lodged a complaint as the US and South Korea expressed concern about China’s actions. Now, we are seeing the same concern being shared by our neighbors and the rest of the international community.

It is not helping any the Philippine cause if P-Noy will be so casual in making public statements outside the confines of diplomacy. There is a proper time and forum to talk tough. P-Noy does not need to play out a role of a weakling or a pushover who says “enough is enough” and makes a stand against a neighborhood bully and calling them “Nazis.” 

Despite grave blunders in the past, commissioned opinion surveys show P-Noy still enjoys two-digit popularity rating at the home front. Foreign policy though is not one of P-Noy’s strong suits. We know he is a diligent student of history but he should keep to himself his reading of military history books. The Chief Executive should know better when to keep his trap shut. For crying out loud, call them Chinese.