‘Restore Sovereignty, Save the Philippines!’

JUST like the country that she represents, U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson is a “charlatan.” For me, ‘Amb. Charlatan’ is a fake envoy of a fake republic and a fake democratic state posturing as a global superpower and policeman of the world.

The United States of America has been the real “Rogue State” as described by American author William Blum, in the book of the same name that critiqued the ultimate roguish crimes of what Mao Tse Tung calls the “paper tiger.”

Blum has written six books, all exposing the criminality of the U.S. state and foreign policy, from his first, “The CIA: A Forgotten History,” followed by, “Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II” to Blum’s third and most popular book, “Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower.”

Blum’s last book about the United States, “America’s Deadliest Export: Democracy – The Truth About US Foreign Policy and Everything Else” argues that where there is ‘real democracy,’ America subverts it.

Here is what William Blum said from his last book: “…to the American power elite one of the longest lasting and most essential foreign policy goals has been preventing the rise of any society that might serve as a good example of an alternative to the capitalist model. This was the essence of the Cold War.

“Cuba and Chile were two examples of several such societies in the socialist camp which the United States did its best to crush.”

There is a point I want to draw from the quote above relevant to the primordial crisis the Philippines is facing today – the crisis of a fledgling democracy subverted by the US-BBM “secret deal” in 2023 reverting the Philippines as a “vassal state” of the U.S. and its deployment as a geopolitical “siege machine” or modern day battering ram to prevent the rise of China and, consequently, of Asia and the Global Majority that all seek a new era of peace and prosperity under a multipolar future.

For 19-months now, the U.S. has been using the compliant BBM government, the compliant mainstream media and the U.S. and Western funded civil society NGO groups, to provoke clashes with Chinese maritime security and defense forces. Their aim is to demonize China and stoke Filipino passions but have been faced with the firm, immovable ‘Great Wall of Ships’ of China.

The U.S. and its Filipino proxies (carefully cultivated, nurtured and funded for over a century and enhanced in the recent decades) have tried all the tricks; they planned to escort Philippines ships with U.S. Coast Guard ships, used civilian ships and fishing boats to break the blockades, but nothing was gained by the so-called “assertive transparency” of the U.S. (aimed to “exact reputational cost on China”) as the rest of ASEAN and the Global Majority continue to ignore the G7 and U.S. proxies’ appeal for support.

Embarrassment has been heaped on the U.S. and Filipino proxies facing firm and professional Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) containment of Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Navy provocations (backed up by CNN, BBC and local news cameras).

US’ promised escort ships for the PCG never showed, a Filipino sailor lost a thumb by his own fault, the semi-grounded BRP Teresa Magbanua was forced to leave by thirst and starvation. Only the noisy protestations from the US ambassador and US proxies are what was left now.

Ambassador MaryKay Charlatan recently tried to put up a brave front by brandishing sarcasm at China’s historical claim to the South China Sea, as it has been called for centuries, saying, “the nine-dash line, or now ten-dash line, that China has drawn is a cartoon…”

She reiterated routine pronouncements of the State Department that the U.S. “stands with its ally the Philippines in terms of upholding international law.” But wait, the U.S. has not even ratified the UNCLOS! On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed  2016 ‘Arbitral Award’ also adds:

Para. 272 – “… the Tribunal emphasizes that nothing in this Award should be understood to comment in any way on China’s historic claim to the islands of the South China Sea.”

The Philippines used to claim historic rights to Sabah until the U.S. instructed the Philippines to delete this provision in our 1987 Constitution. There is nothing exclusive in the Philippines’ EEZ claim as four other countries claim the same or even have superior territorial claim over us.

That of China is founded on customary international law, established in the course of the past millennium showing evidence of exploration and exploitation of the many islands and groups of islands in the South China Sea. These claims are also supported by the agreements at the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation during World War 2.

It is not my intention to engage in legal argumentation in this short piece but the re-statements of these “basics” are necessary.

We need to reiterate that the U.S. continues to refuse to ratify UNCLOS but quick to quote it when convenient for its own interest. What is this but… “Hypocri-sea?”

This opportunism has sparked widespread questions about US sincerity in advocating international law and its fully discredited ‘rules-based international order’ the “rules” is what the US say they are and which when convenient, they also simply dump or ignore. In short, the US makes the rules– and everyone are compelled to obey.

The US continues to refuse to ratify the UNCLOS, insisting it would “undermine U.S. sovereignty” and that “…all kinds of meritless environmental lawsuits would be brought against us…” (America). Other US voices claim it undermines “Freedom of Navigation Operations” (aka its right to practice gunboat diplomacy).

In the 19-months saga of US-instigated strategy of tension against China and Asia using the Filipinos, it has only been the Filipinos who suffered from the loss of goodwill and actual trade and investment benefits from China. This, while US officials continue with their beeline to Beijing to get as many concessions and favors as they can.

Why does BBM allow such shame and national economic privation to be suffered by our people It is time he takes the advice that our “mosquito think tank” has issued for the government to heed: “Restore Sovereignty, Save the Philippines!”

Let us learn the lessons from Ukraine which may soon no longer exist as a viable country over its total subservience to American diktat. Let us avoid becoming the ‘Ukraine of Asia.’