Whenever he is asked why he has not lifted a finger to oppose China’s blatant aggression, invasion, and occupation of Philippine territories in the West Philippine Sea, President Duterte would get irritated and snap back along the lines of: Kaya ba nating kalabanin ang Tsina? A war with China would annihilate all of us in the blink of an eye!
The saying, “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” has been applied by Mr. Duterte to the perverse extent of repeatedly bloviating about his “love” for Chinese President Xi Jinping, now his BFF.
He even bragged that Xi would readily protect him against any coup to oust him. The Chinese people must have been laughing hysterically behind his back — and at the Filipino people — for being so gullible and stupid.
Taiwan is the biggest argument against Mr. Duterte’s foolish fear of China going to war if he went against its hegemonic intentions.
Despite Taiwan’s continuing defiance of its threats since the 1950s, China has never given up on its efforts to bring back that recalcitrant “province” under its control and jurisdiction. Geographically, Taiwan is just in mainland China’s backyard, 180 kilometers from its southeastern coast.
The shoals in the West Philippine Sea that China has gobbled up are more than a thousand kilometers away. Being a military and economic superpower, China could easily smother and swamp Taiwan and bring it to its knees in no time at all.
But has China ever gone to war against Taiwan, as Mr. Duterte constantly fears it might do against the Philippines if he stood up to its bullying? Did China go to war with Vietnam or Indonesia after they called Beijing’s bluff recently?
We have lost so much of our territories and natural resources in the West Philippine Sea, now forever deemed no longer ours, mainly because of a bogey that Mr. Duterte has been foisting on the Filipino people.
And we thought all along that he was street-smart, as a former kingpin feared by all hoodlums in Davao City!
Janno M. Montecristo
jama.monte@yahoo.com.ph