The latest controversy over the West Philippine Sea should serve as a warning to all government officials including members of the uniformed services when dealing with Chinese officials. A supposed transcript of a phone conversation last January between a Chinese embassy diplomat and Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, chief of the military’s Western Command, has been leaked.
The transcript showed Carlos telling the Chinese that he and his superiors concurred with its proposed “new model” for peacefully managing the situation in Ayungin or Second Thomas Shoal. Carlos went on leave last Tuesday in what the Armed Forces of the Philippines claimed was not connected to the reports linking him to the new model.
Granted the conversation took place, why would any foreign government take as the official position of the Philippine government on such a sensitive issue statements given in a phone call by a low-level military officer? This is a policy matter that is way above the pay grade of the Wescom chief.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, for his part, takes offense at the recording by a foreign government of the alleged phone conversation with an AFP officer. This is illegal wiretapping that warrants the expulsion of Chinese diplomats behind it, Teodoro said.
Teodoro himself along with National Security Adviser Eduardo Año had previously also been mentioned by China in insisting that the Philippine government had approved of the so-called new model for kowtowing to Beijing on Ayungin and the West Philippine Sea. Both Teodoro and Año have dismissed the stories as lies. The Department of Foreign Affairs has also stressed that no Cabinet member has agreed to the new model, and that only the president of the Philippines can give the green light for it.
China appears to be engaged in a disinformation campaign that has so far failed to reduce the outrage generated by its water cannon attacks on Philippine vessels in the WPS and its ongoing attempt to stake a claim on Sandy Cay off Pag-asa island. The Chinese are not clueless on diplomatic protocol, and must be aware of the proper channels for reaching any agreement on a matter as important as conduct in the South China Sea.
Philippine officials, whether civilian or military, must also be made fully aware of the protocols governing their interactions with foreign governments. There can be no room for misunderstanding or misinterpretation of statements. Philippine officials must know enough not to shoot their mouths off especially on matters outside their mandate. When dealing with the Chinese government, such officials must remember that anything they say can and will be used against them and the Philippines.