A war already being waged

I recently watched a film entitled “Trust Me” (2020) that I discussed with my Journalism class. This documentary tackles the role of social media in spreading misinformation. The film has won four best documentary awards at various international film festivals.

In one of the scenes, there was a clip featuring a replay of an old interview with Yuri Bezmenov, an ex-Soviet spy. He said, “The highest art of warfare is not to fight at all but to subvert anything of value in your enemy's country... anything… Pit white against black, old against young, wealthy against poor, and so on—it doesn't matter. As long as it disturbs society, as long as it cuts the moral fiber of a nation, it's good.”

As we prepare for the midterm elections slated for next year, it would be naive to overlook the influence of foreign forces on our politics. Some pundits even dare to suggest that it could turn into a proxy war between the United States and China in the region.

But for now the center of attention is the escalating tension in the South China Sea. Of particular note is a statement by Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro who emphasized the urgent need for the AFP to evolve rapidly into a multi-threat and multi-theater armed force. Also noteworthy is the statement by former Defense chief Norberto Gonzales at a forum in San Juan, as reported by The Philippine STAR. Gonzales stated that the government should prepare the country's 20 million youth “for war”, amid increasing tensions in the region.

What often escapes our attention is that wars are not only fought on the battlefield with firepower and spilled blood. In fact, the situation in the South China Sea is unlikely to escalate into a shooting war unless one of the parties is confident that victory is assured.

At this juncture, we return to the words of Bezmenov. Foreign powers who wish to subvert the interests of the Philippines simply have to tap their think tanks to analyze our nation’s moral and social fiber. As Gonzales himself said, we are easy pickings for the “Chinese party” because it believes we are a weak nation whose institutions can easily be sabotaged.

In 2016, an otherwise obscure political figure rose from the south, and we only saw the surface of his popularity, failing to recognize the sophisticated propaganda that allowed such popularity to be built over time. We naively thought it was an all-Filipino game; no offense intended, but no homegrown Filipino PR machinery could have been capable of mounting such a captivating narrative. In power, he would later dismiss the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that invalidated China’s claims over the South China Sea as “just a piece of paper” that he would throw away.

We are stuck in a weak geopolitical position due to our frail political system and corruptible institutions. Our voters can be bought during elections. Our key institutions easily become “ampaos” --compromised and lacking in integrity in the face of bribes and political influence.

Only a few public officials and politicians in our country truly possess both the vision and the strength of character to act patriotically. Many swear allegiance to the nation’s creed but lack the discipline to shun petty squabbles or resist the lure of corruption. We’re often too embroiled in our own fiefdoms and quests for personal glory, forgetting that greater geopolitical dynamics exist that can sweep it all away when things reach an inflection point.

Unless we reform, our enemies need not fire a single shot. They need only exploit our obvious weak spots.