Please, not ‘war,’ just ‘fun,’ in the Philippines

As President Obama was making ultimate peace between the United States and Cuba after more than half-century of hostility, sadly in our part of the world, short and medium range missiles were being fired, albeit into the sea. And in the Philippines (which has agreed to allow the United States to preposition equipment, supplies and materiel for the exclusive use of the United States forces in identified locations), rocket and missile platform will be deployed in joint military training exercises, amid rising tensions over China’s claims in the South China Sea.

China has, on the other hand, asserted that its recent reclamation projects in several reefs in the South China Sea and the reported placement of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island have been provoked by the Philippines filing a claim assailing the validity of China’s nine-dash line.

May I humbly suggest to President Aquino that we rethink our playing the role of “Ombudsman” in the South China Sea, and we respectfully beseech him not to play the role of “Enforcer.”

At the risk of being pretentious, the reality of foreign relations is that every country, the United States included, acts only as its own national interest dictates.

Please, Mr. President, not “war,” just “fun,” in the Philippines.

—ESTELITO P. MENDOZA, emram@globelines.com.ph