China: A better ally
(Herman Tiu Laurel / DieHard III / The Daily Tribune / 12-03-2014 WED)
The United States of America invaded the Philippines at the turn of the last century and killed an estimated 600,000 to one million Filipinos in the Fil-American War that ensued. It colonized the country until “granting” it independence in 1945 but forced onerous pacts such as the 1946 Bell Trade Act (later renamed the Laurel-Langley Agreement), the 1947 Military Bases Agreement, and the 1951 RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty.
In over 100 years, the US dragged Filipinos from the Fil-Am War to the War in Iraq--11 wars in total.
In 1991, the US bases, which were then only at Subic and Clark, were ejected. Now, they’re back under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) that allows US bases all over the Philippines.
From 1945 to 2014, all attempts by Philippine leaders to transform the Philippines into a modern and prosperous society--from President Elpidio Quirino’s “Total Economic Mobilization” and President Carlos P. Garcia’s “Filipino First” policy to President Ferdinand Marcos’ “11 Industrial Projects” and energy development--had all been sabotaged by the US.
The late industrialist and former Philippine War and Agricultural Secretary Salvador Araneta explains in his 1999 book, “America’s double-cross of the Philippines: A democratic ally in 1899 and 1946,” how the Dodd’s Report of the US Congress demanded that the Philippines be made the vegetable garden of Japan for the latter to develop as an industrial bastion against rising China.
China has been a neighbor and trading partner of the Philippines for at least a millennium, as historian E.P. Patanne wrote, “Sulu political relations and cooperation with China dated back to the Yuan dynasty (1278-1368) … With Chinese co-operation, Sulu subsequently became an international emporium… Sulu featured prominently in the annals of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), being among the first country in the Nanhai (the Chinese term for the South China Sea) to send a tribute mission to China in 1370, two years after the founding of the Ming dynasty; then again in 1372. Sulu continued to send tribute missions to China in 1416, 1420, 1421, 1423 (and) 1424.”
China has no intention of invading its neighbors despite Green Card holder Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario’s attempts to convince BS Aquino that China “lays claim to Western Luzon” (see Rigoberto Tiglao’s Nov. 30, 2014 Manila Times column quoting Trillanes’ report). China has had encounters with neighboring countries over territorial disputes but it has never invaded any country. Now, with China’s economy surpassing the US, it even engages in “soft diplomacy,” building economic alliances such as giving $700 billion in aid to ally Cambodia and $12 billion to Africa, building railroads in Latin America, or infusing massive funds to new financial alliances such as the BRICS, SCO, AIIB, NDB, et al. (we need one whole article just to explain these).
China today, guided by the “smiling” Communist Party of China (CPC), is a beacon of global cooperation for the World’s “peaceful development.” I describe it as “smiling” for indeed all the Chinese officials who welcomed and discussed with the recent Filipino delegation, which I will henceforth call the PMTTD11.20.2014 (Philippine Media and Think Tank Delegation of Nov. 20 to 29, 2014), met every one of us and faced every difficult issue--particularly the very youngish IDCPC Deputy Director General Mr. Zhang Xuyi, who concluded his every response to the delegation’s even toughest questions from the youngest delegates on the West Philippine/China Sea--always with a smile.
A key initiative of China today is the New Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road program, which it is initially funding with $50 billion. Unfortunately, unlike the ancient Silk Road, the Philippines is being skipped in today’s Maritime Silk Road map.
The China of the 12th Century is back to serve as the center of global economic resurgence, and the Philippines must be restored as, in the words of E.P. Patanne’s historical account, an “international emporium.”
Lucio Pitlo, one of our delegates, lately emailed me on how RP can negotiate on an equal footing with giant China; my reply: “Deng’s ‘bilateral talks and mutual development’ principle has always assumed equality of footing.”
The problem of Filipinos’ “inferiority complex” arising from the country’s unequal relationship with “Big Brother” USA, which it has “negotiated” with since 1945 under the shadow of economic, political, and military presence and blackmail of the US Filipinos, is such that our people, especially our youth (like our feistiest delegate Manila Times reporter Mr. Ping Bauzon), are fired with nationalistic pride and raring to prove it by militant defense of our islands without compromise, even without having a proper historical perspective in mind.
And so I raise the matter of Malampaya, which is “ours” in principle but from which Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon extract 90 percent of gas and revenues. Can we proudly call Malampaya “ours” under this circumstance? From all sources, China is willing to go 50/50.
However long it may take--but I hope it’s sooner than later, as we are losing out to the rest of Southeast Asia in riding the crest of the Asian Century with China’s rise--there will be a new, open, brotherly, and cooperative relationship between the Philippines and China, especially with the growing number of Filipinos living and working in there. Here’s an article that highlights this growing Filipino sector: A Philippine Friendship Club in China by Austin Ong (http://www.austinong.com/blog-2133823458/-a-philippine-friendship-club-in-china).
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