P1NAS, the broad citizens’ movement for national sovereignty, welcomes news that an agreement has been reached between the Philippines and China to de-escalate confrontations at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. According to reports, the agreement aims to establish a mutually acceptable arrangement at the shoal without conceding the claims of either party.
“This shows that the way forward lies in bilateral negotiations towards a peaceful resolution, rather than US-instigated military escalation and gratuitous provocation,” said P1NAS spokesperson Antonio Tinio.
The recent agreement with China follows the debacle of the June 17 Philippine Navy resupply mission to Ayungin that was forcibly repelled by China and contradicts previous denunciations of such agreements by Marcos Jr. administration officials, including one entered into by the chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command, who was later sacked.
P1NAS noted that the agreement marks the failure of the “assertive transparency” campaign pursued by the Marcos Jr. administration at the instigation of the United States. “This agreement exposes the failure of the Marcos Jr. administration’s ‘assertive transparency’ campaign in the West Philippine Sea,” said Tinio. “Despite high-profile resupply missions to Ayungin shoal covered by national and international media, the Philippines remains unable to assert its sovereign rights in Ayungin, Panatag, and other parts of the West Philippine Sea.”
Tinio pointed out that the so-called “assertive transparency” approach, advocated by figures like Ray Powell, a retired US Air Force colonel associated with the US Navy-funded Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University and a “talking head” frequently quoted by Philippine news media outlets, has largely served to escalate confrontations between Philippine and Chinese forces in the West Philippine Sea and shape public opinion in favor of expanding US presence in the Philippines. However, it has not succeeded in securing the country’s territorial and sovereign rights.
“Despite the loud advocacy for assertive transparency, this strategy has been more beneficial to the US and Malacañang’s agenda of increasing US military presence in our country as it builds up for war to maintain US hegemony in Asia,” Tinio emphasized. “This is evident from the expansion to nine Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites, the deployment of a banned intermediate-range missile launcher system to Northern Luzon, and the stationing of F-22 fighter jets and Reaper drones in Pampanga.”
P1NAS warns against the “doormat” foreign policy of Pres. Marcos, dutifully serving US hegemonic interests by vigorously pursuing reciprocal military access agreements with numerous countries, such as the recently signed Reciprocal Access Agreement with Japan. “Together with the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, such agreements provide the legal cover for the US to assemble military forces from Japan, NATO countries, and its other allies on Philippine soil, potentially dragging the country into a US-led war against China,” said Tinio.
P1NAS calls for a truly independent foreign policy, stressing the need for the withdrawal of US bases and troops from the Philippines and the region and the dismantling of China’s artificial island bases as key to resolving disputes in the South China Sea peacefully.
