Learning from Vietnam

As as Filipino I am offended when Chinese ships attack our fishermen with water cannon. China has no right to do that; attacks like this are an act of provocation.

I have nothing against the Chinese as a people. My great-grandfather was Chinese; I have Chinese friends and I’m currently working in a Chinese-owned corporation. I believe Filipinos should be thankful to Chinese businessmen for providing work to jobless Filipinos. But I am strongly opposed to the Chinese claiming territory that belongs to us.

How should we react to China’s harassment? The Aquino administration has filed a complaint in a tribunal of the United Nations. But this is not enough. We should also crack down on illegal Chinese migrants in our country and jail those involved in illegal activities.

Or follow the example of Vietnam. I’m not suggesting that we kill Chinese citizens, like the Vietnamese recently did, but we have to stand our ground. So why not boycott Chinese products? Rough treatment deserves tough response. We are being bullied; it’s about time we draw the line. Let’s arrest illegal Chinese fishermen as well. The more we show that we are afraid, the more Beijing will bully us.

Unfortunately, these suggestions will not materialize because our leader is weak. Remember the Sabah standoff? When the Malaysian army slaughtered our Tausug brothers, President Aquino did practically nothing to stop it. Not even to issue a statement condemning the slaughter. Instead, he publicly blamed Kiram’s group for their patriotic attempt to reclaim Sabah, which belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu, from Malaysia’s control. It may be true we don’t have the firepower to face an enemy in combat, but a more deplorable truth is, our leaders don’t have the courage to speak for us.

Obviously, we cannot trust Mr. Aquino to defend this country. We need a leader who has the balls to publicly vituperate the enemy of his nation, like the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. In facing off with an enemy, sometimes guts are more important than guns.

Thus it would be a mistake to rely solely on the support of the United States; the so-called American promise is not dependable. Most likely, America will abandon us once trouble erupts, just like it did in World War II.

We don’t need the Americans; if we want respect, we must show that we can stand on our own feet. Like the Vietnamese people. They fought the French colonialist for eight long years and won. Then, though exhausted from that war, they subsequently defeated the United States, the world’s most powerful nation, after waging a guerrilla war that lasted 16 years. Now, Vietnam is being bullied by China but it is evident that the Vietnamese are not going to be cowed.

The Vietnamese are a great people not because they have sophisticated weapons of war; they are great because of their heart and soul as a nation. I hope we Filipinos will learn from them.

I am not suggesting any illegal or hostile act against the Chinese people. But I am encouraging our Filipino brothers and government leaders to make a firm stand against Chinese hegemony in the West Philippine Sea.

—MAXIMO C. PINCA JR.,

Commonwealth, Quezon City