By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) had another face-off with the Chinese Coast Guard May 3 at the Scarborough Shoal in the latest of the regular “water cannon-me forays” of the “Tarriela tin can ships.” The cry-baby Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) belly-ached, “China’s aggressive actions, particularly its water cannon use, caused damage to vessels of PCG and BFAR…” costing P 2-million the complaint now goes.

                 Still more bellyaching followed the DFA’s grievances as Mr. Pot-Pot Patriot himself (always loudly honking his patriotism) dramatized to his radio interviewers over dwPM, the Inquirer reported, that the CCG used “more fatal” and “very fatal” water pressure because the PCG vessels hit by the water cannons had seen its railings bent in some places. I am surprise there was no injury that only massive “Curitas” or “Bandaid” medicated plasters could save victims from dying of.

                Behind the scenes we can be sure ex-USAF colonel Raymond Powel is praying that sometime soon a genuine fatality in the “victimize-me attacks” of the PCG may occur for the U.S. media to hype up even more, but whether that would make the U.S. trigger the Mutual Defense Treaty even the best-paid U.S. hack Richard Javad Heydarian is beginning to doubt as his latest Asia Times article asks, “When will US come to the Philippines’ defense?”

                The answer to Heydarian’s plaintive plea is – NEVER! The U.S. never aids it allies when the ally needs it, the U.S. takes action when it wants to and not when it’s friend is in need of it. To paraphrase the late President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos, Sr.’s words before the New York Press Club in 1982. “We Filipinos will be dying there while you will be debating here …” and the debate will not be whether the Philippines needs help but how the U.S. will be helped in getting involved.

                There’s very little chance Filipino expectations from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral John Aquilino’s statement to come to the aid of the Philippines if the, ”… sea attacks kills soldier, sailor…”  as some Philippine media put it. Read closer and you see the catch, what the admiral said is “PH can invoke MDT if sea attacks kill soldier, sailor…”  but it’s another thing for the U.S. to get their ships into the range of tens-of-thousands of Chinese hypersonic anti-ship missiles.

                What the U.S. is getting out of the “water cannon-me forays” is Western media hype as their networks, like the Telegraph and CNN had their blond lady reporters excitedly write and broadcast like little girls playing water games on board the “Tarriela tin can ships” screaming into their microphones in front of the cameras – all the while making useful fools and idiots of their Filipino hosts. The genuine and proud officers and men of the PCG are cringing in shame at what’s going on.

China’s Global Times newspaper reaction is the Philippines is “Hyping ‘fatal’ attacks is a political show by the PCG to smear China.” Ex-US Air Force colonel Raymond Powell concocted the “assertive transparency” project now known as Tarriela’s “water cannon-me forays” to do exactly that, “exact a reputational cost” on China in defending its sovereignty over claimed territory – but it’s not working as China uses its non-lethal water cannons and 200 nations of the world understand the U.S. stunt.

To create the illusion of “international support” for Tarriela’s “water cannon-me forays” the U.S. has brought in France into the latest naval drill with the Philippines and Japan in the South China Sea, and then the propaganda around the “Asian NATO” and the “Philippines as best friend of ‘AUKUS’.” As I described above, these are all illusions as NATO can’t even get its act together in Ukraine, Australia seeks accommodation in China’s market and U.S. officials beeline to China to seek a modus vivendi.

The support the Philippines needs is from vital ASEAN neighbors, but in fact the Philippines is isolated in ASEAN. ASEAN countries have been sending the signals to the Philippines’ political leadership for almost a year now starting with Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim in September 2023 calling for “South China Sea issue should be resolved within the region,” then Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong in November 2023 asking, “Do Filipinos want to be battleground between the US and China?”                 Indonesia in January 2024 promised to expedite work with ASEAN countries on the SCS Code of Conduct, while in April Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in Manila broached to his counterpart Enrique Manalo Singapore views “with concern” the tensions in the SCS, while most recently Malaysia’s FM Mohamad Hasan speaking in China took a swipe at US-Philippine naval drills opposing ”external forces” meddling in disputed waters.

   

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