April 29, 2012
Bayan Muna deplores PH talk with US Sec. Clinton, says it may provoke a shooting war
BAYAN MUNA Partylist Representative Neri Javier Colmenares today pressed Pres. Noynoy Aquino to act now and submit the Scarborough dispute to international multilateral bodies. He also deplored the scheduled talks between the Philippines and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as just a means to expand US intervention in the country. The solon also warns of the danger of US intervention should China launch a limited shooting war in the shoals.
“Pres. Aquino should not dilly dally. He must act now and submit the issue to either the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) despite the refusal of China to go to court. Surely, the ICJ or ITLOS has at least the moral authority to encourage China to go to the tribunal to resolve the dispute peacefully. Refusal by China to heed the advice of these bodies would put it at a defensive and may dampen its saber-rattling in the Scarborough Shoals” said Rep. Colmenares.
“I do not think China will launch a full scale war against the Philippines. But it is capable of launching a limited shooting war in the Scarborough shoal if only to test our determination to defend our territory. It launched a calculated attack and killed 9 Vietnamese fishermen in January 2005 in the Paracels. It also attacked Vietnamese forces and invaded the Paracels in 1974 killing scores of Vietnamese soldiers and wounding more than 800. After a few weeks of international condemnation China believes the attention will die down and it would get away with such an atrocious act. This analysis was seriously discussed in Asiaweek by Prof. James Holmes, an associate professor of strategy at the US Naval War College, who said that Beijing would likely get away with it if China were to launch a limited attack on the Philippines or Vietnam” Colmenares added.
“The possibility that China will launch a “small war” in Scarborough is precisely the reason why we should not go the United States. The US decision to intervene or not intervene will always be based on its national interest. Pakabig palagi ang US government pag tumutulong at may history sila ng pagiging bantay salakay tulad ng ginawa nila sa atin matapos ang mga Kastila ay sila naman ang sumakop sa atin. If it intervenes, it will only escalate the tension, and worse, we could end up with ousting one bully only to be replaced by another bully, the US. Also this is dangerous as it is most likely that the two bullies will eventually come to a mutually beneficial agreement with us left out. This is what happened between the US and Spain before and the US has more economic interest in China than the Philippines,” he warned
“Pres. Aquino should cancel these bilateral meetings with the US and focus on the multilateral bodies like ASEAN, ITLOS or the ICJ.” Colmenares concluded.
Bayan Muna is set to file a House resolution tomorrow to denounce expanded US intervention in the country. (Bayan Muna)
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