President Bongbong Marcos Jr. seems to be taking the country in the opposite direction of the previous administration. Remember how former president Duterte would curse the Union? For the first time, a European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, visited the country to discuss a lot of things and issues. She immediately said the “illegal use of force cannot be tolerated in the Indo-Pacific and in Ukraine.” She also blasted “authoritarian leaders who have been violating the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty,” specifically citing Russia’s aggression on Ukraine. The EU does support Ukraine in its defense of the country.
As she condemns the war in Ukraine, she also takes a stab at the use of illegal force in the Indo-Pacific region, while not mentioning China. She stresses the EU supports the 2016 UN arbitral decision in favor of the Philippines and claims it’s legally binding. Try telling that to Beijing, which has refused to recognize the decision, even backed up by the previous president of the country. Remember the piece of paper in the garbage can?
The world is volatile with the ongoing war in Ukraine and the issues hounding the South China Sea. Russia, which recently backed out of the grain deal that would continue the supply of grain to the world, threatened to treat each vessel sailing the Black Sea as carrying weapons to Ukraine. It has destroyed tons of grain by targeting infrastructure with its ballistic missiles. But recently, several vessels seem to have challenged this threat head-on and continued sailing in the Black Sea. Their destination has not been confirmed but I hope they will get grain and transport in the rest of the world. It is ironic that Africa is the largest recipient of grain from Ukraine and yet many African countries have praised and supported Vladimir Putin and his destruction of grain.
Last Tuesday, prices of fuel have gone up by at least ?2 per liter. This is another effect of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The prices of fuel have skyrocketed as the EU has put a cap on the price of Russian crude, part of the many sanctions it has imposed on the Kremlin. The West particularly the US, the UK, and Germany are supporting Ukraine via weapons and information as the latter goes on its second counteroffensive of the war albeit slow and costly. Nothing short of a Ukrainian victory will rectify the world’s issues.
We welcome the visit of President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Union. I gather the country will have better ties with the Union which has pledged to “support the Philippines on the maritime security front by sharing information, conducting threat assessment and building the capacity of your national CoastWatch center and your Coast Guard.” Let’s hope so.