How was the Phl during "The Pelosi?"

Just because the potential war did not happen and the world, with the Philippines almost right in the very middle of it, emerged unscathed from Nancy Pelosi's reckless brinkmanship caper over Taiwan, it does not follow that everyone can now just sit back and relax as if the close call did not happen. Sooner or later war will happen not only because China wants to do it but because the US is bent on pushing China into doing it sooner.

That China is out to take Taiwan is out of the question. It is the when that is keeping everyone else guessing. The US may want to provoke China so it will not get caught by surprise. No US provocation happens without a ready and waiting US reaction. The US cannot allow China its own sweet time and leave it to its own devices. One thing the US does not want is to be not in control. It is a control freak.

Look at how it is dealing with Russia. Not wanting to open itself up to a first strike by Russia, the US has made sure the neighborhood around Russia is unfriendly so that if it feels the need to stretch its legs, it will have to deal with its neighbors first, thereby giving the US ample time to employ its options. Another ace up the US sleeve is its discovery of the new art of modern warfare called proxies and sanctions.

This new art calls for the building of alliances whereby the allies can be turned into instant proxies to fight America's fight without America itself getting directly involved other than to arm and supply the proxies. Young American boys no longer need to die for their country if the young boys of allies are willing to do it for them. At the same time, America bleeds the enemy with sanctions. Wars no longer cost American lives.

As with Russia with Ukraine as the proxy, so is China as the enemy with Taiwan as the stooge. Like Russia, the US wants to cripple China, with Taiwan as stand-in, ala Ukraine. And if the Philippines does not wise up, it can also do a Taiwan for America's sake. But the Philippines is in a worse lot than Ukraine and Taiwan, whose ties to their tormentors cut deeper. The Philippines has no deeper wounds to bind from China.

And yet there is no escaping any war in the region if China and the US were to be involved. Given such eventuality, and knowing how dangerously close we have been to one, courtesy of the 82-year-old Pelosi, it might do well for the Philippines to check on its preparedness. It might even put to good use the Pelosi caper, use it as background, considering the known circumstances of the trip.

As it can now be told that to avoid potential confrontations with Chinese jets, the plane bearing Pelosi had to pass through Philippine airspace heading to her first stops in Singapore and Malaysia and then through the same Philippine airspace again going to Taiwan, it might do well for the Filipino public to be told what the Philippine military footing was at the time.

Were the Philippine Air Force and the Philippine Navy aware that at a particular time nearly two weeks ago, a group of unthinking Americans on a reckless, aimless, and very provocative mission with the potential to accidentally plunge the world into war was passing over Philippine territory? If they were aware, did such awareness include provisions for the possibility of war?

Even if the risk Pelosi took was calculated well enough for the conclusion to be made that China would not be foolish enough to start anything more than saber-rattling, still no equation ever devised can totally rule out accidents triggering wars. As our Senate is very quick at investigating almost anything, maybe our senators can find out how fit and ready we had been during "The Pelosi" and then move to plug holes if we weren't.