Let’s hope not

According to the Department of National Defense (DND), the country should be able to enter into an agreement with the Italian government to purchase two Maestrale-class frigates by the end of the year. All they need now is a formal recommendation from the Philippine Navy, which in turn will be subject to approval by the President. That shouldn’t be a problem, considering that this administration is prioritizing the modernization of the AFP, particularly the Philippine Navy and Air Force. Aside from the first Hamilton-class cutter that we already have, a second one is slated to arrive early next year. The country is also in talks to buy South Korean fighters. Something the PAF will welcome with open arms!

With all this shopping around for military hardware, that is actually causing the Chinese to complain, one would ask why wasn’t it done by the previous administrations? But of course, we all know the answer to that. The country’s security was never a priority. Their security and that of their children and their children’s children was more important! Who cares if China wanted the whole ocean and everything on it, for as long as we have everything this country can give us! That was the battle cry of the past administration. Indeed, we have seen anomaly after anomaly revealed when they left office.

Is it any wonder why they are being relentlessly pursued? What is wrong in going after them? Those who are saying to lay off the Arroyos are probably the same people saying that we just forgive the two brothers who killed Cyrish Magalang! Justice must be served, period! It would have been a totally different scenario at Scarborough Shoal last April if the past administration did what this current one is doing.

And strengthening our forces could not have come at a more appropriate time. The climate in the West Philippine Sea has drastically changed. If it seemed all quiet in the past years, that is no longer the case. China is now more arrogantly staking its territorial claims on everything the Asian oceans have to offer, incurring the ire of not just one, but several of its neighbors including Japan and Russia! Obviously, they only rattle their sabers with those two countries, considering their awesome military might. But when it comes to dealing with a country like ours, China is just a mean bully, muscling its way into the disputed islands with impunity! Hopefully, that will all change soon.

With its growth exponentially rising, China is now looking at what the oceans have to offer. It has always been assumed that the seabed holds a vast supply of oil and natural gas. Commodities China needs to sate its thirst for energy. Analysts have also stated that China needs to be recognized as a world power, and staking its claim on everything shows that. If I remember my history right, isn’t that what Hitler’s Germany wanted? To claim the whole of Europe, using, at the time, its powerful military to achieve just that?

Let’s hope not. We may be strengthening our military, but only because we want peace. Everybody does.