Joe Alejandrino
Only a president with a bit of common sense would know that the best way of protecting 150,000 Pinoy OFWs with jobs in Taiwan is to nudge the Taiwanese leaders to seek a peaceful accommodation with Beijing instead of offering the US access to EDCA bases that encircle and threaten China. It is meddling by countries like the US and PH in Chinese internal affairs that encourages Taiwan to become an independent nation whereas most countries in the world have recognized ‘One China.’ Would BBM be happy if China encouraged Mindanao to secede from PH?
The warmongers in Washington want war to weaken China economically and militarily like they did in Ukraine provoking Russia, and pick proxies like Zelensky to fight their war for them which only profit bankers and arms manufacturers. As a result, Ukraine is destroyed, its people forced to flee to neighbouring countries, its army decimated. In twelve months of war, over 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died and some 400,000 wounded.
Worse yet, the US offers PH only a measly sum of $100-million for access to its nine bases while it provides $12-billion to Taiwan and $3.8-billion annually to Israel, both of whom host no US bases, for them to acquire state-of-the-art weapons systems to defend themselves, leaving our AFP with no means to protect itself. That is how much Uncle Sam values and respects us. And BBM jumps with glee at it. What kind of C-in-C is a president who risks his soldiers in a war where they are just cannon fodder? What kind of president places his country and people in harm’s way by siding with a warmongering US government in a war where we have nothing to gain and everything to lose? Only a stupid president.
BBM has not learned the lesson of Zelensky which 50 countries around the world in Latin America, Africa, major oil-producers in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia, major NATO countries like France and Turkey, have learned about US hypocrisy and lies. Even Japan is re-thinking its position. They are choosing to be neutral, preferring to do trade and commerce with China, than supporting a warmongering US. ASEAN countries like Vietnam announced it won’t allow foreign bases on its territory and the Malaysian prime-minister advised BBM not to antagonize China. But BBM is too stupid not to understand it. In the end, only the Philippines and Australia will remain with the US and they will be isolated from the international community. And if Trump is re-elected president in November 2024 and reaches an accomodation with Russia and China, BBM’s goose is cooked. Ferdinand Edralin Marcos must be turning in his grave.