Dependence

We celebrate the 114th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence tomorrow with the President of the Republic just back from a pleading session in the United States for help in territorial defense.

The 1898 declaration, written in Spanish by war counselor Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, proclaimed Philippine independence from Spain “under the protection of the Powerful and Humanitarian Nation, the United States of America...”

US Adm. George Dewey, whose squadron had obliterated the Spanish armada in the Battle of Manila Bay, did not attend the independence ceremonies in Cavite at the home of (as described in the Declaration) “the Egregious Dictator Don Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy,” head of the “Dictatorial Government of the Philippines.”

Instead Dewey sent a colonel of artillery in his squadron, “Mr. L.M. Johnson,” to attend the ceremonies.

And no wonder, because, as we all know, the US and Spain did not recognize the declaration of Philippine independence.

From the start, US colonial rule elicited conflicting emotions among Filipinos. The Americans were reluctant imperialists who preached Christian values while exploiting Philippine natural resources and smashing the Filipino forces that revolted against their presence here. The American colonizers introduced free and universal public education, set up scientific research centers, and raised the quality of public health care. They cleaned up the moat around Intramuros, which had turned into a breeding center for disease-carrying mosquitoes. They built Kennon Road (with Japanese labor) and developed a summer capital, Baguio City.

The Spaniards believed natives of these islands were too stupid to even learn the Spanish language. In contrast, one of the first things the Americans did was to spread the English language across the archipelago.

In later years the Americans won Filipino hearts and minds through entertainment (Hollywood movies and pop music) and food – ice cream, soft drinks, chocolate bars, hotdogs and burgers.

And they nurtured the image of Uncle Sam as benevolent Big Brother, placing the Philippines under their security umbrella, and fighting alongside Filipinos during World War II.

It was a convenient arrangement, being under the wing of the world’s superpower. It allowed the Philippines to focus on many urgent matters in nation building.

But it also bred complacency and created a culture of dependence when it came to national defense.

* * *

Maybe because we live in an archipelago, separated from the Asian mainland (several governments consider us more of a Pacific island state rather than Asian), we’ve always taken external threats for granted.

Chinese pirates staged periodic raids on villages in these islands before the Spaniards arrived, and the Japanese tried to make the Philippines part of their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere during World War II.

But we don’t share a land border with any state. Defending our territorial integrity, it seems, has never been a national priority, even when it involves enforcing our claim over Sabah on Borneo island, which is just a two-hour boat ride from Tawi-Tawi. Malaysia governs Sabah as its second largest and easternmost state. I don’t remember our government ever showing a strong interest in pursuing this claim.

The territorial dispute over Panatag or Scarborough Shoal is something else. One look at a map and Filipinos wonder at the gall of China in staking a claim over an area clearly way beyond its 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

Chinese fishermen are still in the Panatag lagoon. China’s summer fishing ban, if it exists at all, supposedly covers only large-scale fishing operations. Worse, the Chinese harvest corals for sale as décor, and gather endangered species such as marine turtles. They catch even young sharks for the fins.

The buzz in the Tsinoy community is that three Chinese submarines were deployed to Panatag after the US submarine North Carolina surfaced off Zambales in mid-May.

Submarines of different countries, nuclear-equipped or otherwise, have probably been crisscrossing Philippine territorial waters for years. But we have no way of knowing for sure, since we lack sonars to monitor our ocean depths.

We don’t have radars, either, to monitor the surface of our territorial waters. Radars are among the items on the wish list brought to Washington by President Aquino in his recent official visit, during which he sought commitment from US President Barack Obama to strengthen bilateral security ties amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

* * *

Since we’ve largely neglected development of a credible defense capability, what other choice do we have, when threatened by the military might of the world’s second largest economy, except to turn once again to the world’s lone superpower for help?

America will promise to stand by its commitments under its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines; it can’t afford to say it won’t. There will be no more permanent bases; Washington wants a “lily-pad” arrangement for its forces deployed overseas. We can expect stronger security ties with Washington as it shifts its focus from Iraq and Afghanistan back to the Asia-Pacific.

But America also has its interests to protect, particularly economic, amid its growing rivalry with China. We must also presume that Americans don’t relish having foreign states depending on them for national defense.

Other western democracies are avoiding our dispute with China like the plague. Each country is looking after its own interest, and at this time, and in the foreseeable future, that interest lies more with non-democratic China.

What we can do is pursue closer defense cooperation with other countries. Such arrangements may require visiting forces agreements (VFA).

As long as there is reciprocity, with our forces enjoying all the privileges and being governed by the same rules as the forces of the other country, we shouldn’t be scared of such agreements. We have one with Australia, which was ratified by their parliament a long time ago but is still waiting for the concurrence of our Senate. We are also working out a VFA with Singapore.

In our dispute with China, our government has been unsuccessful so far in getting the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations to support us. Two countries, I was told, refuse to sign on to an ASEAN statement on the issue.

I was also told that certain ASEAN members see the deployment of our Navy’s lone warship – really just a retrofitted pre-owned cutter from the US Coast Guard – against the dozens of Chinese “civilian enforcement vessels” in Panatag as a disgrace to ASEAN.

In international affairs, weakness and dependence do not earn respect. It was true on June 12, 1898, and it’s true today.