Diplomacy adrift

MANILA, Philippines - I congratulate the DFA Personnel Association for its stand on the appointment of the newly retired generals as non-career ambassadors to Brunei and the Netherlands. Their courageous stand is in stark contrast to the inaction and silence of the leadership of the premier department of the Government to the latest appalling assault against the career corps of the DFA. If media reports are accurate, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs even allowed the Secretary of National Defense to announce the appointments and even before their agreement has been received. This gives rise to the perception that the leadership of the DFA is either a principal, an accomplice or an accessory to this unfortunate episode. It also gives the unintended consequences of the leadership going down another level. The appointments are not only defective in form but also in substance. As the saying goes, one who stands for nothing will fail for nothing.

The appointments follow a series of silence, inaction and abdication of its mandate by the leadership of the DFA. The brouhaha about when and how American Daniel Smith left Manila could have been avoided had the DFA which was “informed” of his departure, been more transparent on the issue and sensitive to the national feelings. The Supreme Court had declared as legally infirm the Romulo-Kenney agreement which allowed Smith to be spirited out of a Makati jail in the dead of night and in the process subverted the judicial system.

The DFA should lead calls for the review of the VFA because of the unequal RP-US relationship under the agreement. The VFA must conform to the realities on the ground and paradigm shift in international relations.

Because the MNLF/MILF issue has been so internationalized, the DFA should be more vocal, pro-active and engaged in the search for solutions. Recall that the leadership is silent on the MOA-AD aborted agreement and mute on proposals to involve several personages and more countries in the peace process in Mindanao. The proposals only give undue importance to the other side and unintended a veritable vacuity of Philippine diplomats and diplomacy. In foreign relations, silence is not always golden, and they do not serve who only sit and wait.

The international community looks to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of any country to spearhead the defense, and offense, of its foreign policies. Many therefore wonder why it is Executive Secretary Ermita who leads the Philippine Delegation to the Human Rights Council and who speaks against negative reports on corruption, extrajudicial killings, violation of human rights and the rule of law and even migration. Secretary Ermita may be more knowledgeable on these issues but nations look to institutions and leadership of foreign affairs to do their jobs.

Today’s global, regional and even domestic developments test the quality of Philippine diplomacy, even as they offer opportunities to reap benefits for the country. The so-called stand-off between China and the US and their renewed rivalry in the South China Sea will affect the Philippines and its relations with the two countries. The DFA should lead in drafting a nuanced, balanced and strategic approach to the shifting geopolitical landscape in the region. Geography is immutable and we must engage China more deeply, and more important, more strategically. We have “special relations” with the US, but it may be time to look at the relationship beyond emotions and sentiments, and in the context of US relations with other countries.

It is also time to make Philippine diplomacy more competitive, more alert and more agile. This will involve protecting the career corps of the foreign service, developing area and issues specialists, and dedicating scarce funds to support the men and women of the foreign service and avoiding unnecessary travels and hosting of meetings. Diplomacy today is no longer about making nice compliments, exchanging happy talks, and engaging in photo-ops. Effective diplomacy is not about rhetorical motherhood statements and goes beyond opening and closing remarks in conferences.

Diplomacy is about securing outcomes through a practice which will yield rich dividends in terms of national interest.

A competitive foreign service will need leadership at the highest order, a leader able to read through implications and ramifications of global events and will inspire confidence among the rank and file, and elicit respect from his colleagues. A competitive foreign service will need strong career institutions able to provide a clear roadmap to advance strategically a vision for the country. Only an alert and agile diplomacy could avoid a drift as the country navigates the dangerous waters of international relations. There is nothing more tragic for an institution and its leadership to find out, too late, that it has become irrelevant because of its timidity and inaction in protecting the career corps.

(Ambassador Baja is former Ambassador to the United Nations and Senior Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs.)