The day when a David defeated a Goliath
Maj. Gen. Edgard A. Arevalo
SINCE Ferdinand Marcos Jr. won the presidency and adopted a strategy of “transparency” by publicizing what is really happening in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the world, not just the Filipino people, saw with extensive clarity and detail the “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard (CCG) and the Chinese Maritime Militia (CMM)” on Philippine vessels.
The Philippines was still reeling from recent attacks on its ships by Chinese vessels. Two CCG vessels cannonaded the wooden boat Unaizah May IV on March 5, crippling it and damaging its navigational equipment. Later in March, another CCG vessel sideswiped a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel, and only the prompt action of its crew in lowering a rubber fender prevented a catastrophe. Then, this incident happened on April 30.
Reactions
When PCG ship BRP Bagacay and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) vessel BRP Datu Bangkaw were subjected to powerful water cannoning by two CCG vessels, the world was aghast anew. They witnessed once more China’s brazenness, which was experienced firsthand and reported worldwide by members of local and international media on board. This and past episodes of China’s brinkmanship were yet again widely criticized by the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the European Union, Australia and Singapore. They denounced China’s vicious assaults on Philippine ships that were merely extending government subsidies of fuel, food packs and water to poor fishermen in Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) that the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea declared in its 2016 ruling a common fishing ground.
This and the many past bullying incidents of this kind that were reported with breathtaking detail in every household, appliance store, café and barber shop, while effectively generating support from other countries, have become intolerable to ordinary Filipinos. The “transparency” tack of the Marcos administration has gradually backfired as our compatriots felt agitated and enraged, clamoring that we retaliate, at least with water cannons. Memes about commissioning “MV Malabanan” (named after a company known for siphoning septic tanks), equipping it with cannons and pitting it against the CCG circulated on social media.
The statements from the PCG during several press conferences and media interviews bewailing the CCG’s savage act of using “fatal” water pressure in deliberately targeting their ship’s personnel, navigational equipment, and staff flying the national flag went viral on social media. And our compatriots were so incensed by the video clips they saw! They poured out comments that mirrored their emotions. Sadly, though, the pit of anger and insulting remarks were directed against the PCG for allowing the Philippines to be repeatedly humiliated and bullied before the world in such a demeaning and violent fashion. Some called the agency’s personnel “cowards” for allowing the CCG to get away with it without even a faint attempt to retaliate in self-defense — if not personal, at least in the interest of national dignity and honor. And that all that the PCG did was cry out loud and complain.
Countermeasure
I was among the concerned private citizens and patriots who were awed by the statement of President Marcos promising a “countermeasure package that is proportionate, deliberate and reasonable in the face of the open, unabating, and illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous attacks by agents of the China Coast Guard and the Chinese Maritime Militia” after that incident in Ayungin Shoal on March 23. But one government spokesman at once helped us manage our expectations for a more “assertive approach,” clarifying that the “countermeasure package” is not limited to military action. Thus, it became apparent that we are falsely hoping that one of the “proportionate, deliberate and reasonable countermeasure(s)” to CCG’s aggressive and hostile acts of water-cannoning and side-swiping our vessels is retaliation using the PCG’s water cannons.
In fairness to the PCG, the BFAR, or the Philippine Navy, for that matter, they are mere agencies under the Executive Department. The military, in particular, is merely an instrument of states and other political actors, says Carl von Clausewitz. Therefore, these agencies cannot impose their will upon their bosses because water cannot rise above its source.
The Philippines has already generated massive awareness and international support. We have harnessed national awareness and aroused patriotism among Filipinos. We have proven our resilience and indomitable spirit in not ceding an inch of our territory or surrendering our maritime rights and entitlements. It has now become countereffective, if not counterintuitive, to continue to allow ourselves to be bullied.
It is time to step up our campaign. We should ask our supporters from the international community to go beyond rhetoric. The move should resonate with these like-minded nations, as it is compelling because China’s disregard for international law impacts regional security and the global economy.
Rich and powerful as they are in the Group of Seven, these countries should threaten China with economic and political sanctions, being the only language that that rogue nation will understand. Unless China respects the rules-based order in resolving disputes, it will be left with only a friend or two in a community of law-abiding nations. If they fail to do so, we will be left to our own devices.
And while our Navy, BFAR and Coast Guard never run out of courage, determination and patriotism, the CCG’s reservoirs well with water to supply their artificial intelligence-driven water cannons to test our mettle and resolve of how far we are willing to take the blow in a never-ending bid to “de-escalate” the situation.
God, have mercy on the Philippines. For only You know when we will see the day that a David defeated a Goliath.
Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard A. Arevalo is a former spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and a lawyer.
X: @atty_edarevalo