DIE HARD III / Herman Tiu Laurel / March 5, 2014
We have been following the allegations made by Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) Gen. Emmanuel Bautista late February about the alleged “water cannon” shooting of Filipino fishermen by Chinese Coast Guard vessels to shoo them off fishing areas at the Scarborough or Panatag Shoal.
At around the same time, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin expressed in public the view that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) should be sent back to the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea “if their Chinese counterparts continue to use water cannons to drive away local fishermen.”
Yet, Malacañang spokesman Edwin Lacierda as of March 3 has continued to insist to media that “We have fishermen there till now... it’s not an issue with us,” which leads us to ask: Are Gazmin and Bautista the tails trying to wag the dog?
The contradictions between the statements emanating from Malacañang and the Philippine civilian defense and military establishment, plus the Department of Foreign Affairs, which filed a protest, belie the allegations that Filipino fishermen are being driven away from the fishing areas of these disputed waters. There is also the lack of any direct witness and evidence that “water cannons” were fired, even though Chinese Embassy officials responding to media questions have been careful to stick to legal and proper diplomatic language that China “has indisputable sovereignty over South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters… (and) does not accept the so-called protest,” neither confirming nor denying the water cannon incident.
What the Philippine media are citing as apparent evidence that the entire incident being alleged is true are statements attributed to a Filipino fish trader, Macario Forones, who said Chinese Coast Guard personnel used crude oil-laden waste water while blowing their ship’s horn in yelling, “Go away, go away.”
The Associated Press quotes Forones by telephone from western Zambales province: “One or two other Philippine fishing boats were hit by the waste water… The water smelled of oil and smeared the side of my fishing boat.” Forones then adds, “But my fishermen did not really leave the area. We’ve spent so much money to travel there and they basically ignored the Chinese.”
If the Chinese Coast Guard, allegedly with bow No. 3063, really wanted to drive away the fishermen, can anyone think that they wouldn’t have done so with their superior strength? Philippine officials below the authority of the president are, thus, hurling repeated accusations even when their superior has, in the words of the Malacañang spokesman, officially shot the incident down by saying that “it’s not an issue with us.” Obviously, if we are to use the correct words for what the Defense and Foreign Affairs secretaries, the CSAFP, and other officials are doing, we can say that they have “gone rogue” and are no longer following official authority. Who then are they following — the US State Department?
The same is true for the so-called activist group, Akbayan, which picketed outside the Chinese embassy to protest the purported “water cannon” incident. This group has been coddled by Malacañang both under Gloria Arroyo and BS Aquino. Its leaders are among those blessed by the political authorities to have tapped into the Janet Lim-Napoles largesse without being investigated. As Argee Guevarra once posted on his Facebook account, Etta Rosales and Riza Hontiveros allegedly received a total of more than P30 million.
Moreover, even as Akbayan ideologue Walden Bello may posture himself as a Third World economist, his foreign relations vision is what can be described as pure US State Department, anti-Gaddafi, anti-Assad, and now anti-China (thus, obliquely, pro-US). Of course, there’s Akbayan idol Randy David with the same line, too.
Some of these very same people and official institutions carping about unproven allegations of China’s “water cannon” aggression were the ones who hedged, lied, or obfuscated the PCG’s machine gun rapid-firing of the Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 24 in May 2013 that killed one Taiwanese fisherman.
For months on end, these Philippine institutions and their top officials attempted to hide the truth that some of the PCG’s irresponsible actions caused the tragic incident as well as grave damage to the image and standing of the country. But, eventually, the Taiwanese side was able to compel Philippine authorities to engage in a “joint investigation,” such that today the truth is known and justice is meted.
So what is stopping the Philippines in the current “water cannon” imbroglio from calling for such a “joint investigation?”
I am not sure if the Philippines’ carping parties will really want a “joint investigation” for the truth may not be what they want. They seem satisfied with being able to engage in black propaganda against China, perhaps mindful that whatever findings may be uncovered will turn out to be very embarrassing again.
As our fishermen sources tell us, the boats that tried to surround the Chinese coastal vessel may not be fishermen at all but agents-provocateur posing as fishermen. Could the Chinese coastal vessel have video cameras? Would these be released in a “joint investigation” so that we can get to the bottom of the murky waters being repeatedly stirred by such allegations?
(Tune in to “Sulo ng Pilipino” on 1098 AM, dwAD, Tuesday to Friday, 5 p.m.; catch GNN’s Talk News TV with HTL on Destiny Cable Channel 8, SkyCable Channel 213, and www.gnntv-asia.com, Saturday, 8:00 p.m. and replay Sunday, 8 a.m., this week on “Manila: Sunshine in the city”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com; and text reactions to 0917-8658664)
We have been following the allegations made by Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) Gen. Emmanuel Bautista late February about the alleged “water cannon” shooting of Filipino fishermen by Chinese Coast Guard vessels to shoo them off fishing areas at the Scarborough or Panatag Shoal.
At around the same time, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin expressed in public the view that the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) should be sent back to the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea “if their Chinese counterparts continue to use water cannons to drive away local fishermen.”
Yet, Malacañang spokesman Edwin Lacierda as of March 3 has continued to insist to media that “We have fishermen there till now... it’s not an issue with us,” which leads us to ask: Are Gazmin and Bautista the tails trying to wag the dog?
The contradictions between the statements emanating from Malacañang and the Philippine civilian defense and military establishment, plus the Department of Foreign Affairs, which filed a protest, belie the allegations that Filipino fishermen are being driven away from the fishing areas of these disputed waters. There is also the lack of any direct witness and evidence that “water cannons” were fired, even though Chinese Embassy officials responding to media questions have been careful to stick to legal and proper diplomatic language that China “has indisputable sovereignty over South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters… (and) does not accept the so-called protest,” neither confirming nor denying the water cannon incident.
What the Philippine media are citing as apparent evidence that the entire incident being alleged is true are statements attributed to a Filipino fish trader, Macario Forones, who said Chinese Coast Guard personnel used crude oil-laden waste water while blowing their ship’s horn in yelling, “Go away, go away.”
The Associated Press quotes Forones by telephone from western Zambales province: “One or two other Philippine fishing boats were hit by the waste water… The water smelled of oil and smeared the side of my fishing boat.” Forones then adds, “But my fishermen did not really leave the area. We’ve spent so much money to travel there and they basically ignored the Chinese.”
If the Chinese Coast Guard, allegedly with bow No. 3063, really wanted to drive away the fishermen, can anyone think that they wouldn’t have done so with their superior strength? Philippine officials below the authority of the president are, thus, hurling repeated accusations even when their superior has, in the words of the Malacañang spokesman, officially shot the incident down by saying that “it’s not an issue with us.” Obviously, if we are to use the correct words for what the Defense and Foreign Affairs secretaries, the CSAFP, and other officials are doing, we can say that they have “gone rogue” and are no longer following official authority. Who then are they following — the US State Department?
The same is true for the so-called activist group, Akbayan, which picketed outside the Chinese embassy to protest the purported “water cannon” incident. This group has been coddled by Malacañang both under Gloria Arroyo and BS Aquino. Its leaders are among those blessed by the political authorities to have tapped into the Janet Lim-Napoles largesse without being investigated. As Argee Guevarra once posted on his Facebook account, Etta Rosales and Riza Hontiveros allegedly received a total of more than P30 million.
Moreover, even as Akbayan ideologue Walden Bello may posture himself as a Third World economist, his foreign relations vision is what can be described as pure US State Department, anti-Gaddafi, anti-Assad, and now anti-China (thus, obliquely, pro-US). Of course, there’s Akbayan idol Randy David with the same line, too.
Some of these very same people and official institutions carping about unproven allegations of China’s “water cannon” aggression were the ones who hedged, lied, or obfuscated the PCG’s machine gun rapid-firing of the Taiwanese fishing boat Guang Da Xing No. 24 in May 2013 that killed one Taiwanese fisherman.
For months on end, these Philippine institutions and their top officials attempted to hide the truth that some of the PCG’s irresponsible actions caused the tragic incident as well as grave damage to the image and standing of the country. But, eventually, the Taiwanese side was able to compel Philippine authorities to engage in a “joint investigation,” such that today the truth is known and justice is meted.
So what is stopping the Philippines in the current “water cannon” imbroglio from calling for such a “joint investigation?”
I am not sure if the Philippines’ carping parties will really want a “joint investigation” for the truth may not be what they want. They seem satisfied with being able to engage in black propaganda against China, perhaps mindful that whatever findings may be uncovered will turn out to be very embarrassing again.
As our fishermen sources tell us, the boats that tried to surround the Chinese coastal vessel may not be fishermen at all but agents-provocateur posing as fishermen. Could the Chinese coastal vessel have video cameras? Would these be released in a “joint investigation” so that we can get to the bottom of the murky waters being repeatedly stirred by such allegations?
(Tune in to “Sulo ng Pilipino” on 1098 AM, dwAD, Tuesday to Friday, 5 p.m.; catch GNN’s Talk News TV with HTL on Destiny Cable Channel 8, SkyCable Channel 213, and www.gnntv-asia.com, Saturday, 8:00 p.m. and replay Sunday, 8 a.m., this week on “Manila: Sunshine in the city”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com; and text reactions to 0917-8658664)
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