Modus Vivendi by Erick San Juan

Modus Vivendi by Erick San Juan

I was advised several times by some pundits that we in Asia must strive towards a modus vivendi with Red China. I reiterate this need, which is becoming more urgent each day. Before long, Communist China will have increased its striking power a thousand folds with a sophisticated delivery system for its nuclear weapons.

I was told that we must prepare for that day. We must allegedly prepare to co-exist peaceably with Communist China. For our part, this means relentless work towards full self-development, so that we can live beside our powerful neighbor with confidence and dignity. For her own part, Communist China must accept the fact that superior military strength cannot justify aggression.

Methinks that the faith and goodwill, as well as the competence, for peaceable co-existence exist in the heart and mind of all Asians.

An excerpt from the speech given by the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Manila Overseas Press Club in November 1968 (taken from his 1969 SONA) - a foresight then, a reality now. If government leaders after him heeded his caution, maybe some of the problems we are facing now with our neighbors are lesser and the country will be far better than today.

It is not mere co-existence, former President Marcos emphasized the need for our country to ‘work relentlessly towards full self-development’ in order to gain dignity and confidence.

Unfortunately, we didn’t gain any confidence because we are still under the wings of the 'big brother' and actually manipulated by our chinese neighbors. And dignity? It goes without saying that the current state of the nation is worse than the previous ones when it comes to corruption. Just because the same people(corruptors) from the previous administrations are still in the present government’s loop.

Our dream for a full self-development will remain a dream if we will not unite and change the system that has enslaved us for so many years now. What we need is an honest to goodness Filipino ideology that will guide us towards self-fulfillment as a sovereign nation- free from the dictates of some perceived master.

China’s present status in world geopolitics did not happen overnight, Marcos felt that this day will come when China will lead the rest of the Asia-Pacific region when it comes to economic and military power. Marcos knew his history. He has chinese blood. In a document written by Julie A. Baeyens entitled "Once Upon a Red Star" which circulated through the Worldwide Filipino Alliance, she cited how the Chinese Secret Service infiltrated the Philippines. To quote-"Through the years, the Chinese Secret Service has constantly kept a keen eye on the Philippines, being strategically located in the South China Sea, long considered by China as a Chinese lake. Control of early Philippine operation was handled directly from Yan'an, Mao Zedong's stronghold. Yan'an was then the seat of the Central Committee of the CPC-Communist Party of China. As early as January 1930, Mao asserted that a spark can set fire to the whole plain. That plain was the whole of Asia including the Philippines. Spearheading the conflagration was the Department of Special Affairs, the TEWU, first led by Zhou EnLai and later by Kang Sheng. The Philippines became a special zone in the red chinese international intelligence and espionage activities. They infiltrated all sectors of Philippine society including the leftist front, PKP-Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas and the AFP- Armed Forces of the Philippines through Pedro de la Pena,an intelligence officer of the Army G2 as army assistant chief of staff for intelligence. In the 1950's, so many were recruited through a CPC's satellite organization named Philippine Committee of Overseas Chinese under the care of TEWU. De la Pena was a good asset due his being a fierce anti-communist. His friend, Antonio Chua Cruz, a millionaire-owner of the anti-Huk and anti-Soviet newspaper, Free Asia, was also employed by TEWU. These two were unmasked in 1952 when Philippine authorities arrested William Pomeroy and Celia Mariano from Rizal. Pomeroy was an ex-US Air Force, a journalist and later a student at UP. In UP, he met and married Celia who was a member of the PKP central committee. Seized from them were documents and detailed notes running of de la Pena and Cruz."
 
 It is now 2013, how many de la Pena's and Cruz's  are now embedded in our society, in the government service, in politics, in our law enforcement and in our military today? And the way some of our politicians saber rattled "na akala mo me ikakaya tayo?" Or is it a deliberate way of provoking, to justify a take over by the awakened dragon?

The world’s perception, especially its neighbors, of the continuous bullying of China does not affect China in the process because it insisted on its historical claim in the contested areas in the SCS and Beijing believe that it can only be settled through bilateral talks between each claimant country and China – no more, no less. A bully? To some but because China has proven its power and cannot be a pushover anymore, even from the mighty Uncle Sam, claimant nations will have to abide by what Beijing wants.

Sadly, our country has no other choice but to run to Uncle Sam, but on second thought, it is Uncle Sam who is perceived  creating the situation that will destabilize this region. And in the process creating proxy wars by dragging its allies in a war only Uncle Sam and possibly China want.

China’s silent army.

In my article dated August 13, 2012 – Fear China From Within, I cited the possibility of the growing presence of China’s citizens in the country through the so-called fifth column. But there is another explanation here cited in the book by Juan Pablo Cardenal and Heriberto Araujo - China's Silent Army: The Pioneers, Traders, Fixers and Workers Who Are Remaking the World in Beijing's Image, to wit: “The growth of China's global economic influence is the obvious lead story of the 21st century so far. As China's Silent Army convincingly demonstrates, no corner of the world is immune from China's reach, whether as a tireless hawker of goods from baby clothes to hydroelectric dams or as a consumer of natural and human resources, often as both a major buyer and seller in the same market.” (From the review written by Muhammad Cohen - Searching the globe for China Inc)

Several questions were given by Cohen in analyzing China’s ‘silent army’ - to what extent is the Chinese government controlling Chinese commercial initiatives as part of a broader strategic plan? In other words, from the copper fields of Chile and Zambia to the forests of Siberia, are Chinese companies doing Beijing's dirty work? How and how much do Chinese diplomacy and business cooperate to serve Beijing's geopolitical goals? Can nations trust a Chinese provider with its telecommunication network, ports, or other vital infrastructure? Is business with a Chinese company overseas ever strictly business?

I myself been asking some of these questions as I discussed these things in my daily radio program (@DWSS 1494khz 5:30 to 6p.m.) that Chinese companies are running vital and strategic utilities here like in the area of telecommunications, our national electric grid and several mining companies to name a few. I have been warning the present administration to be wary and revisit the contracts made between our government and China from the previous administrations. The utilities I mentioned are vital and can be a security threat in the long run. Like what Cohen asked, can we trust a Chinese company to run our own electric grid – the backbone of our power supply?

There is nothing to fear if we have aspire and done something to acquire the status of a developed nation as how we aspired us to be – a full self-developed sovereign nation with dignity and confidence to live beside our powerful neighbors.

"But the Greeks already delivered the gift." What's next? An ongoing surrender of our beloved nation without firing a single shot!