Humoring their lonesome selves
(Herman Tiu Laurel / DieHard III / The Daily Tribune / 09-15-2014 MON)
BS Aquino is on a trip to Europe ostensibly to "rally more support
behind his government's proposed 'triple action plan' (TAP) to resolve
the (China Sea) dispute through international arbitration."
TAP was the plan the Philippines presented at the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting last August in Myanmar, about
which Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Albert del Rosario
said, "When we put the TAP on the table, there were no objections... I
take that to mean that ASEAN was fully supportive..."
Truth to tell, it was Asean's fastidious politeness that did not allow
the overwhelming majority of its members to embarrass the Philippines
with an emphatic "NO."
Del Rosario explained, "The TAP, if you take a look at it, is DoC
(Declaration of Conduct)-centered. And the message that I wanted to
deliver is, TAP is good because it's DoC. If you don't accept TAP,
then you don't believe in DoC. So let's stop talking about DoC,
right? We're just humoring ourselves, 'di ba (right)?"
China rejected the TAP and turned around accusing the BS Aquino
government of proceeding to No. 3 of the DoC, i.e. prematurely
bringing the issue to international arbitration. Of course, the
Philippines has never complained about Vietnam, despite the latter
occupying the most number of islands and reefs in the Spratlys.
Now, BS Aquino is flying to countries 12,000 kilometers away, far away
from the Asian and Asean neighborhood, to rally support for his China
Sea action plan, which the Asean had already politely snubbed, by
visiting European personalities, who have little or no relevance at
all to Asean goings-on and who, on the whole, no longer significantly
represent the European majority's sentiments.
First stop in BS Aquino's European sojourn is Spain, where the
Royalty's corruption has forced an abdication and a new, untested
monarch King Felipe (who's not syphilitic, at least) assumes the
throne in a land facing economic depression and secession from one of
its most significant regions, Catalonia.
In Belgium, he visits European Union leaders Jose Manuel Barroso and
Herman Van Rompuy--dubbed the "Dream Team of Mediocrity"--as well as
the royalty in residence, who has figured in international news
recently as "King Philippe of Euthanasia" for signing "children's
euthanasia" into law in March this year.
In France, Aquino will meet socialist President François Hollande,
whom two-thirds of the French public are raring to kick out in the
wake of economic disaster and the exposé of his disdain for the poor
as "sans dents" (toothless), as detailed in the book of former partner
Valérie Trierweiler.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who still can't decide how to
say "no" to self-destructive economic sanctions being demanded by the
US against Russia, will be the lucky German leader awaiting Aquino.
Then, Aquino proceeds to his favorite destination, the US, to address
the United Nations on "Climate Change" in the midst of the fifth
highest level of all-time Antarctic Sea Ice reported last September 12
at 32,210 sq. km.
While there, BS Aquino will meet his counterpart Barack Obama, who is
not clear on how long it will take his mighty US of A military to
defeat "ISIL," with only 18,000 to 30,000 jihadists. Reviewing
Aquino's itinerary, it's impossible to see any reason for the journey.
What's Aquino going to bring home? Those European royalty and
bankrupt political entities won't make a dent on China's position on
the China Sea disputes; nor will any of the minor trade deals during
the trip--that are hardly even mentioned in Malacañang press
releases--improve the hollow Philippine economy.
Aquino's speech at the UN on Climate Change will mean even less as he
has been pushing the proliferation of coal-fired power plants in the
entire Mindanao area against the express wishes of the Mindanao people
themselves.
It's hard to believe BS Aquino is on this European-US-UN trip to
achieve anything other than to humor himself, along with others like
him in the Western powers' mutual admiration society, otherwise known
as the "Global Dream Team of Mediocrity."
(Watch GNN 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.; tune in to 1098 AM, dwAD, Tuesday to Friday, 5 p.m.;
search Talk News TV and date of showing on YouTube; and visit
http://newsulongpilipino.blogspot.com)
