Could the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the West Philippine Sea last June 9 have been a ‘test’? Did the Philippines pass or fail?

Quotes from the interview…

On the Palace reaction to the June 9 incident:

“It’s disappointing to say the least. Unang una ang members ng Cabinet, sabi nila hindi maliit na maritime incident. Nagsalita si Sec Nograles, Sec Panelo. Doon nakita natin medyo magulo ang takbo ng statements nila. Hindi in unison ika nga. Nakaka-disappoint yan because coming from the President himself, matagal natin hinintay basagin niya ang kanyang katahimikan, pagkatapos ganyan marinig natin, ang nakita ko hindi man lang niya in-explore lahat na available resources na pwede gamitin, lalo na ang provision ng MDT. Very recently narinig natin pahayag ng US State Secretary Mike Pompeo. Sabi niya, obligasyon ng US pati ng PH na pag may attack sa isang vessel, whether it’s a military or civilian vessel, basta sa loob ng Pacific Ocean at qualify pa niya na WPS is well within the area of the Pacific Ocean, obligasyon ng US magresponde at ma-trigger ang pinirmahan nating tratado with the US, ang MDT. Bakit hindi inisip ng Pangulo na humingi ng tulong? Actually di tulong hinihingi kundi invoke mo provision ng MDT, instead of just exercising his last option of surrender. Kasi parang resigned ang kanyang statement na ano papadala ko roon, gigiyerahin natin? Hindi naman giyera ang option dito. When we call on the US to abide by the provisions of the MDT, it is not praying for World War III. Ang sinasabi natin doon, the mere presence of a portion man lang of the US Pacific Fleet should be enough to project a balance of power within the WPS. So hindi pwede. Magisip-isip din ang China na basta na lang mam-bully ng Filipino fishermen or member ng ating PCG or PN.”

“Sinasabi hindi pa narinig ang part ng China. Pero narinig na natin lahat na pahayag ng fishermen, narinig natin pahayag ng SND, narinig natin pahayag ng FOIC ng PN. Malinaw naman kung ano talaga ang pangyayari. The lame excuse na put forward ng Chinese spokesperson, which incidentally they took down, inayos ang script, tapos binalik uli. Pero ganoon pa rin. Hindi pa rin mag-add up kasi ang satellite feed na nakita natin, it is almost impossible na mangyari ang sinasabing they were besieged by 7-8 vessels. Doon sa satellite photo nakita natin gaano kalayo ang sinasabing ibang vessels. When we’re talking 7-8 km ang distance at night, walang visibility. Di mo makikita may nabangga roon o hindi mo makikita sino ibe-besiege mo kasi very limited ang visibility sa high seas at midnight. Di mo makita ang nasa 7 km away.”

“Ni-run ko yan sa sinabing he finally broke his silence. Dinugtong ko lang yung and he left us heartbroken. But really, it’s really heartbreaking to hear from the President na finally after more than a week nagsalita siya at tapos ganoon. Di ba parang nakakadismaya o nakakasakit sa puso natin na marinig ang ganoong pahayag ng Pangulo?”

“Let’s face it. Ang AFP and uniformed personnel are now on a very high morale. Ang taas ng morale nila because of the recent release of the budget ng DBM sa salary increase. Pero hindi lang yan ang tinitingnan ng sundalo pagdating sa morale nila. Tinitingnan nila ano ang karampatang aksyon na ginagawa ng kanilang CIC. What if hindi civilian fishing vessel ang involved, ang nagkaroon ng allision? Admittedly it was an allision, stationary, binangga. What if Coast Guard vessel or PN patrol boat? Anong gagawin ng Pangulo, ganoon din?”

On the possibility of the issue taken up at ASEAN leaders’ meeting:

“Isasama raw nila. Sabi ng Malacanang, may pahayag sila, isasama sa matalakay. And since this not only concerns the PH since there are other claimant countries sa WPS, I think it is but proper hindi nasama sa draft because this is a relatively new issue so hindi nasama sa draft. Pero it doesn’t prevent the Philippines from including in the discussion ang nangyari sa Reed Bank. It is a good venue. Any forum participated in by other countries that are similarly interested in certain issues, magandang forum yan.”

“That’s another option. We ask the US or band ourselves together with other ASEAN countries especially those claimant countries.”

On invoking the PH-US Mutual Defense Treaty:

“Mati-trigger ang MDT, masusubukan natin. At makikilala din natin hanggang saan magko-comply ang US sa pinirmahan nilang treaty way back in 1951. At nakita nating magandang scenario is, pag in-exercise yan, di naman agad-agad gigiyerahin ang China dahil in-assault ang isang PH vessel. But parang proactive, pwede sila magpadala ng patrol doon. Siyempre magdadalawang-isip ang China na right there and then mag-attack ng vessel na ang katabi vessel ng US or aircraft carrier ng US.”

“No two superpowers would want to go to war because it is devastating. Kasi nuclear age na tayo. They will exercise extreme caution before they finally pull the trigger ika nga, to escalate an incident into a full-scale war.”

“Basta within the Pacific Ocean, any assault on a fishing vessel ng either country could trigger a response from either party. Ngayon nangyari na nga. In-attack ang fishing vessel, civilian or military, obligasyon ng US government under the MDT to respond accordingly. Of course, nangyari na. Pero kung harap-harapan na may in-assault at naroon sila, they could react right there and then, they should have reacted. Pero ito di agad namonitor. Pero sabi ko nga, proactively we can invoke the MDT para magkaroon ng balance of power.”

On whether the incident was a ‘test’:

“I received information na parang, hindi naman validated, parang may possibility this is a test. Parang tine-test tayo ng China how would we react in a situation like this. Apparently deliberate ang pagtama sa barko dahil alam nila paano daplisan. Indication naman, hindi yan civilian fishing vessel kasi hindi designed ang fishing vessel na civilian para ipabangga. Pero kung totoo ang report na armed maritime militia, that is something else. Pag armed militia, ang nag-aarmas niyan Chinese government.”

“We were tested kung ano magiging reaction. As things are developing, we’re failing the test. The leadership itself ang reaction parang pabor na pabor sa China.”

On what the government should do:

“Explore lahat na options available para maipamukha sa China na hindi nyo kaya kami i-bully, instead of telling them hindi namin kayo kaya. Because in so many words, yan lagi ang sinasabi niya. Kaya di ba noon I mentioned na if we are weak we should not advertise our weakness. Di ba sabi ni Sun Tzu, when you are weak you pretend to be strong. Para may laban ka maski papano maski psychological warfare meron kang panlaban. But when you’re weak enough tapos sasabihin mo wala kaming kalaban-laban because we’re very weak, ano yan? Does it make sense to you? Lalo tayo ibu-bully.”

On possible Senate hearing:

“Depende sa magde-develop between now and July 22, kasi kung ganito pa rin ang situation, hindi maiiwasang may mag-file ng resolution that could trigger an inquiry in aid of legislation.”

“Executive to executive yan. Kami taga-ratify ng treaty na pinapadala sa amin ng executive branch.”

On effectiveness of diplomatic protests:

“Sinasabi natin gaano tayo kahina, no matter how many diplomatic protests or note verbale ang padala natin, sukat na sukat tayo ng China. Maski hindi sila umaksyon alam nila ang kaya nating gawin. Because we keep on advertising our limitations, our weaknesses.”

“Kaya dapat magpakita tayo ng kaunting kakayanan naman. Maski di sarili natin. Kasi di ba ang batang maliit, pag bully ng kapitbahay, ang takbo sa big brother. Kuya binu-bully ako ang laki, nasa likod siya ng kuya niya, ganoon din dapat (gawin?) natin. Kung di natin kaya gawin on our own, meron namang ibang available options or resources or weapon in our arsenal para magamit para pantapat sa superpower.”

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