Let’s probe and see the facts

AS I warned in my article, “Xi-Biden create amity, Amboys act up” last week in Pinoy Exposé, the IWO (Information War Operations) of the U.S. and its Amboys are up to no good again.

So, even as the Wall Street Journal reported that Xi and Biden had “cooled down hostilities” in their virtual meet, the routine IWO flag was already up as the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations (PCFR), the Amboy organization, assigned one of it retired generals to stir up the SCS issues.

Retired General Edilberto Adan submitted a paper to the Manila Times which duly reported it under the headline, “China winning territorial ‘war’ without firing shot – Adan.”

However, Adan should read up on the issues: the Philippines lost because of itself in an arbitration that, as publicly stated by UN Spokesperson Stefan Dujarric, the UN had nothing to do with.

I cite below Philippine panel members Jardeleza, Hilbay and Carpio with “expert” Batongbacal disputing amongst themselves because serious students should really read up on it.

An important headline is the Manila Times, “Carpio’s plan to push WPS deal hit” that reports on Hilbay hitting Carpio (https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/12/news/national/carpios-plan-to-push-wps-deal-hit/1806705).

Another is this dissection of Jardeleza’s critique of Batongbacal comments “Associate Justice Jardeleza Demolishes Batongbacal’s Cherry-picking Lawfare in South China Seas Debate” (https://sovereignph.com/2021/08/03/associate-justice-jardeleza-demolishes-batongbacals-cherry-picking-lawfare-in-south-china-seas-debate/ ).

Two days after my last column on November 18, the “water cannon” incident was reported with blaring headlines in all the national newspapers with the Inquirer leading the emoting as it emblazoned “OUTRAGE” in its stories.

I wrote my reaction to the news with an “I-told-you-so-in-my-mind;” the Amboys’ IWO was exactly what my last column had alerted everybody to watch out for.

Analyzing the incident, I saw my “Eureka” moment: “Why in 22 years of boats supplying to the BRP Sierra Madre did this “water cannon” incident happen only now?”

The corrosion-eaten BRP Sierra Madre has been grounded at the Ayungin shoal since 1999 to anchor the Philippine’s territorial claim to the area.

There was an incident in 2014 but that was at the height of the controversy over the SCS with China. In 2019, Magdalo congressman Alejano and red-linked Zarate protested the “blocking” of supply boats by Chinese ships that the congressman admit were “1,600 years away” or over a kilometer from the supply boats – so patently “crying wolf.”

When I inquired with various foreign and local media sources into this “water cannon” incident, I discovered that – unlike all previous supply runs that were all fully monitored by Chinese CG and even satellites – these two boats were not clearly recognizable compared to previous supply runs as they were thoroughly covered with tarpaulin, as if hiding something.

Their suspicion aroused the Chinese CG used the water cannons. And based on our DFA’s twits, the boats left posthaste.

I wrote my first reaction to this in SovereignPH.com, “Supply Boats Baiting Water Cannons Won’t Stop China-Backed ASEAN Post-Pandemic Recovery.”

My conclusion is that the two Philippine supply boats purposely behaved deliberately in this irregular and suspicious manner y to invite a reaction from the Chinese Coast Guard.

The use of water cannons by the CCG is of course the right method unlike what General Edilberto Adan apparently wants to see – that a first shot is fired.

US war-hawks would have loved a first shot fired, but the discipline and professionalism of PROC police and military personnel are legendary and there’s no chance of that.

Bobi Tiglao of the Manila Times got the same information as I got, namely, that the two supply boats fielded by the Philippine Navy to resupply Sierra Madre had been fully covered with tarpaulin.

I go to the extent of saying that they acted as if hiding something to bait the Chinese CG and create an incident to report.

Otherwise, there would have been no water cannoning incident. This point was also raised by Professor Anna Malindog-Uy at the Webinar sponsored by the Integrated Development Studies Institute (IDSI) last Thursday, November 18, 2021, where a media person, Chino Gaston (GMA-7), asked if she meant investigating our supply boats.

I entered my comments into the Zoom chat, saying that, “Yes, we should investigate all parties to establish the facts and not go around as if it’s safe to assume the Chinese are at fault,” which is exactly what the American and Amboys desire so fervently.

Chino Gaston may be too young to remember the 2013 incident where our Philippine Coast Guard machine-gunned the Guang DaXing boat on the excuse that the boat had “attacked” the PCG.

After a five-year investigation, a Philippine court finally convicted the 8 Philippine Coast Guard men of murder.

The Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives has called for a probe into the incident. By all means, let’s do an earnest investigation of both the Chinese side and the men on the two supply boats – we may or may not be surprised by what we will find out.