SO AMONG the biggest news this week are the missiles and various other military assets that the Chinese have brought to one of the contested reefs. Also, in this same week, the Chinese made a statement to the effect that they will protect the Philippines, which basically implies that we are under the Chinese sphere of influence, and that we should be very happy about it, or else…
And how did the government respond to the growing Chinese military presence close to our backyard? Tepid is a word that I would use, and I can’t blame them.
What the Chinese are trying to do with their island building projects, and the consequent military build-up on those islands, is called a fait accompli. A fait accompli can best be described as “This happened. I made this happen. There’s nothing you can do about it. You have to deal with it.”
One of the reasons why China can get away with their island building and military escalation in the West Philippine Sea is that they have the power and the resources to do so. They are the natural hegemons of Asia, and although their influence will likely fluctuate in the future due to economic and domestic concerns, that is their niche throughout most of recorded history.
The real problem, though, is not Chinese power but Philippine weakness. The Philippines is a militarily weak country, even when compared with other ASEAN nations. I have faith in the fighting ability of the average Filipino soldier (after all, we have been fighting various insurgents for decades), but in terms of raw numbers and firepower, our country is not very powerful, and it is this lack of military power limits our country’s ability to dissuade our neighbors from making moves on our territorial waters.
So when the Chinese decide to extend its military presence in our watery backyard then tell us that it’s for our own good, there’s not much we can do about it (unless we can somehow build up our military power overnight), because we couldn’t even prevent the matter from happening in the first place. Again, a fait accompli.
I know I’m not saying anything constructive, but there is a lesson to be had here: By its very nature, a fait accompli is a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected by the event hear about it, which leaves them no other option but to accept the situation as it currently stands. So the best way to deal with such situations is to prevent them from happening in the first place, and by creating entry barriers as well as credible threats that would dissuade rivals and enemies from making them happen.
Can we do that going forward? Is the current administration even willing to stand up to the PRC at this point? It’s hard to say, but if we don’t build up our military strength, we can expect more fait accomplis in the foreseeable future, and Duterte should remember that once the Chinese have established their presence, in those areas, getting rid of them will be very difficult. If fails to act, or if his administration makes the wrong decisions, future generations and administrations will have to deal with the consequences.
It’s not fair, but that’s how the world works. The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
