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The Philippine government should include local governments and citizens in the defense of the country’s territorial sovereignty, former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani said.Ramos-Shahani slammed the purely “paper protest” tack that the government is using in response to Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
During a Senate hearing on Thursday, Ramos-Shahani – a former Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) undersecretary – criticized the government’s response to recent incidents involving the harassment of fishermen in the disputed waters.
“We seem to be losing the psychological aspect of war, as if Filipinos are wimps compared to the Chinese, as if Filipinos are cowards compared to the Chinese. Because we don’t say anything,” she said.
She noted, government officials have been giving the same answer – that the country can’t counter the military power of China — for years.
She said this is the time to sound off alarm bells.
“All we do is paper protest – a paper protest that is just ignored. We are not even ashamed of that [reaction], we seem to accept it as part of diplomatic practice. This is why we should go beyond diplomacy protocol,” she said.
ENGAGE LGUs, COASTAL COMMUNITIES
Ramos-Shahani said the national government should engage local governments in protecting the country’s territorial rights.
“It’s no longer an issue of foreign affairs. This is also domestic affairs. This is an issue where the vital interest of poor fishermen coincide with the most stylish diplomat we have in the Philippine foreign service,” she said.
She said the country has “imprisoned” itself in the bureaucracy by employing only the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) when reacting to China’s moves. She said a local Pangasinan official once lamented to her that “foreign policy is [only] a national government concern.”
Ramos-Shahani said the government has also forgotten the Constitutional provision that there is a need to pursue an independent foreign policy in order to protect the country’s interests and right to self-determination.
“I’m not saying that we should be pro-American or pro-Chinese. We have to have allies. Who are they? Japan? India?” she asked.
She said the government should also engage NGOs, fisherfolks, sea vessel owners, etc. “They’re the ones at the frontline of defense.”
“I know Masinloc, I don’t know Scarborough Shoal. That’s the English term. But Masinloc is what’s known to our children in Zambales, Bataan, Lingayen [and other coastal villages]. Let’s bring the issue back to the people,” she said.
Text: Ira Pedrasa, ABS-CBNnews.com
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
