Still in the pocket

In no uncertain terms, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed anew to avoid war as much as possible if only to preserve the Filipino nation. Without directly referring to the renewed agitations over Beijing’s militarization of its occupied islands in the South China Sea, President Duterte renewed this vow in his pep talk before men and women of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) last Wednesday.  

“My job is to give peace to everybody… Our job is to protect the people and preserve the nation… Preserving a nation is avoiding a war,” President Duterte declared this policy at the turnover of command to a new PSG chief.

Speaking as their Commander-in-chief, the President impressed upon members of the elite PSG troopers that they, together with him, will “continue to face the threats” from enemies of the State within and outside the country. “When you protect me, you are protecting the nation, if I die tonight today or tomorrow, so be it. If you like my advocacy, buhayin n’yo ako (make sure I live),” President told his troopers who comprised his close-in and perimeter security escorts.

At the higher plane of government policy-making, the latest pronouncement of President Duterte of “avoiding war” as much as possible validates again the official line of administration officials giving him advice on handling the country’s overlapping territorial maritime claims in the South China Sea. This we heard anew from National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. during our news forum at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay held earlier on the same day.

We started our Kapihan sa Manila Bay one hour earlier than usual upon the request of Esperon who was earlier invited to attend the public hearing of the House special committee on West Philippine Sea chaired by Quezon City Rep. Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte. Esperon along with Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano were invited to shed light on the foreign policy directions of President Duterte regarding the latest reports on militarization of the disputed reclaimed areas in the South China Sea.

Showing us some sort of a preview of his West Philippine Sea briefing for House leaders, Esperon presented in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay a huge framed map of the disputed chain of islands, islets, atolls, reefs, shoals and rocks at the disputed Spratlys (which we now call as the West Philippine Sea).

The framed map shows the Kalayaan Island Group – the largest of which is the Pag-asa Island – among those over which the Philippines asserted territorial claims under Presidential Decree 1596 issued in June 1978 by the late dictator president Ferdinand Marcos. PD1596 was based on the discovery by the late Adm. Tomas Cloma Sr. of the rich fishing grounds in Spratlys nearest to Palawan and later renamed as Kalayaan.

As the chairman of the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, Esperon reassured the public that their government has been keeping a close monitoring of the heightened military firepower being deployed by Beijing to its reclaimed and occupied islands in the South China Sea. The committee, according to him, regularly meets, informs and transmits their recommendations to the President.

Esperon sought to dispel fears and concerns raised over the latest sightings of long-range bomber planes, naval ships and other military crafts in an apparent show of force by Beijing, projecting its powerful presence in the South China Sea. For one, Esperon pointed out, the Philippines is not an enemy nor a military target of China to worry about the Chinese military planes and ships deployed in their occupied territory.

The retired Armed Forces chief of staff believes with certainty the Chinese show of force is not directed at all to the Philippines. Esperon noted China has not made any overt aggression against other claimant countries in the South China Sea that include Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.

Amid calls to file diplomatic protest against Beijing’s militarization of the South China Sea, Esperon argued, the West Philippine Sea task Force is not remiss in its task that such foreign policy tools are being used quietly and through diplomatic channels.

Obviously guided by his top security advisers led by Esperon, this should explain why President Duterte lately mouths the line: “It’s all geo-politics” when he made light reference to the reported increased militarization in the South China Sea region.

Esperon quoted the latest extemporaneous speech delivered a few days back by the President saying he would “draw a red line” in the South China Sea issue only if any Filipino troopers stationed at Pag-asa island, or any Filipinos for that matter, may get hurt or worse, get killed.

“We are not saying also that we are not going to war,” Esperon said. But when push comes to shove, waging war against such a military power like China remains to be the “last option” and “last resort” of the Philippines no matter how weak we maybe in military firepower, Esperon declared.

Fortunately, Esperon stressed, the current situation since the Duterte administration took over in June 2016 has seen very enhanced Manila-Beijing relations now on its warmest state of friendship and peaceful co-existence.

But administration critics and opposition leaders are not convinced at all. They accuse President Duterte of too much dependence on Chinese aids that he is only too willing to ignore the danger signs. Worse, they bewail – and rightly so – President Duterte refuses to assert up to now the victory in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling in favor of our country’s West Philippine Sea claims.  

On the contrary, Esperon countered, President Duterte remains committed to the enforcement of the ruling by The Hague-based PCA that rejected Bejing’s nine-dash line claims over the entire South China Sea. “It (PCA ruling) remains at the President’s pocket,” Esperon swore pointing to an imaginary pocket at the right chest of his barong.

What’s inside the pocket? Well, we can all guess – it’s the China card.