“It also appears that the Ayungin standoff could trigger something else more than China’s planned takeover of Taiwan”
The Ayungin Shoal is starting to become a flashpoint in Southeast Asia, with China claiming Ayungin Shoal ( Second Thomas Shoal) is part of its territory in the West Philippine Sea.
The Philippines, on the other hand, claims Ayungin Shoal, 104 nautical miles from Palawan, is part and parcel of our continental shelf and within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country at the West Philippine Sea.
Thus, whenever there are private or Philippine Coast Guard vessels in the area, China claims they are intruding in China’s territory, Santa Banana!
In 1999, the World War II-vintage BRP warship Sierra Madre was intentionally grounded at the Ayungin Shoal by the Philippine Navy in an effort to assert its claim to that Shoal and since then there has been a platoon of navy marines stationed there.
The problem now is that whenever that platoon of navy marines has to be resupplied with food and other necessities, the Chinese Coast Guard and other militia vessels block the Philippine vessel.
At one instance, the Chinese Coast Guard vessel aimed at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel with a military-laser, blinding the Philippine Coast Guard vessel with some Philippine journalists on board.
The latest incident was when a Chinese Coast Guard even fired water cannons.
These and other incidents, like when Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels swarm the area, have prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to file verbal and diplomatic protests, but China just ignores them.
Now, China is claiming the Philippines had promised and even vowed to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, but, in the absence of that promise or vow, the National Security Council claims, it’s “just a figment of the imagination” of China.
No less than President Marcos Jr. disavowed that claim, and if there’s any, he would rescind it.
Comes the question: who did it if it is true? I can believe that what China is doing is just a “figment” of its imagination” to authenticate its claim to Ayungin.
BBM’s first test
The Ayungin issue could well be the first test of his political will and leadership as President, Santa Banana!
The President had promised the Filipino nation that “I will never give an inch of our sovereignty at the West Philippine Sea.”
I am sure China’s insistence that Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) is within Chinese territory and sovereignty, and with the Philippine claim that Ayungin is within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country, necessitates a stand off, my gulay!
Even our fisherfolk are harassed by China Coast Guard and militia vessels when the former just want to fish in that area.
It can only get worse with the planned joint patrols of the United States and the Philippine Coast Guard at the South China Sea.
And with the increase of sites in the Philippines which US warplanes can use under the Expanded Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) of the Visiting Forces Agreement Treaty, as I said, Santa Banana, China is retaliating against the Philippines and it’s getting worse!
It does seem, if I am not mistaken, that China does seem to be retaliating at the Philippines with BBM’s pivot from China from former President Duterte’s pivot to China and Russia, if you recall.
In my opinion, China President Xi Jinping appears to be testing BBM’s political will to see how far he can go.
It also appears that the Ayungin standoff could trigger something else more than China’s planned takeover of Taiwan.
BBM is indeed walking on a tightrope, my gulay!
The big question now is, will the US truly defend the Philippines just in case there is war with China?
Pros and cons of internet
I have said enough in my previous columns about the pros and cons of the internet, Santa Banana, especially when I said that the GenZ generation is relying on almost everything on the internet and they are missing out on a lot of the things that my generation used to love in life, like courting and writing love letters, visiting a girl they like in her home etc.
Even in the movies, gone are the romantic Hollywood movies about love like “Affair to Remember” and Ingrid Bergman and Sophia Loren romantic films.
My gulay, most of the movies today are about crime, violence, disasters, calamities and “dark” movies about the future.
How I miss those love stories of Clark Gable, especially “Casablanca” of Humphrey Bogart and the like.
Well, my grandson told me that times have changed and life is now much faster.,
But the advantage of their generation is that with the internet, they know almost everything and can communicate with friends and even lost relatives anywhere in the world.
Travel destinations are now easier to discover and travel to because of the internet.
Well, I guess my generation belongs to the past.
When I talk to my grandson, I really feel old and jurassic.
To them I am a dinosaur, and whenever I talk of the joys of youth and recall the girls I wrote love letters to and dated them, he would laugh.
Now, Santa Banana, all they do, with a tap of a finger is text or email each other, girls don’t play “pakipot” anymore like the girls of my time, since there are more women than men now.
Well, Santa Banana, things have really changed because of the internet.
My gulay, I am really old!
Manila Bay reclamations
President Marcos Jr. suspended 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay, the reports said.
Santa Banana, there are 22 reclamation projects in Manila bay, all aimed at building artificial land areas in Manila Bay, I can’t believe it !
With 22 reclamation projects in Manila, there goes the famous sunset of Manila Bay.
My gulay, what will happen to Manila Bay?
Whoever authorized them should be canned, jailed and the key thrown into the polluted Pasig River.
Well, at least BBM had the good sense of suspending them.
It’s now up to the Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga to review them.
In my opinion, Mister President, they should, all 22 of them, be canceled.
They are all threats, not only to the environment, but to national security.
All for what, my gulay, for the benefit of people behind the reclamation?
What bothers me more about the reclamations projects right behind the American Embassy is that it is in joint venture with blacklisted state-owned China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) that was responsible for building those artificial islands for China at the West Philippine Sea, now highly militarized with airfields, ports and the like for the use of China at the South China Sea, which China claims to be its own under its mythical “nine-dash line” claim to the whole China Sea.
I believe not only the CCCC should be banned from getting involved in projects in the Philippines, but all Mainland Chinese business involvement in Philippine projects.
Note that, in most of the Chinese investments involved in the Philippines, they are state-owned.
Santa Banana, China does not have to invade the Philippines, they are already here!
P50 and bananas
We may laugh at news reports that for P50 and a bunch of bananas that motor boat capsized in the tragedy where 27 passengers died at Laguna Lake, also involved the common practice among government regulators of demanding “padulas” or grease money to violate rules and regulations.
In other words, just for P50 and a bunch of bananas, that motor boat which was clearly overloaded with 70 people with only 40-passenger seating capacity capsized because of heavy waves at the height of a typhoon can be traced to utter neglect and even corruption of the Coast Guard personnel to allow the motorized boat to leave port.
It is not unusual that even policemen want grease money to do things they should do.
I know only too well when I got involved in a vehicle accident, when you report to the police the accident, whoever is in charge at a police station won’t act on that incident report unless you give him grease money.
An incident report is needed to make a claim at the car insurance company/
Worst of all, in the provinces, the police force become the private army of the mayor or some politician.
They say it’s the Filipino way: without “padulas”or grease money, nothing moves.