“History teaches that where economic power goes, political and strategic power usually follow.”
— Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister
The Sabah incident is a storm in a teacup that took the Aquino administration, as usual, by surprise, and it has since remained clueless as to what to do with Sabah without losing face while appeasing the Moro “settlers,” and how to extricate them from Borneo without bloodshed.
The collateral problem of the administration is the plausibility that strained diplomatic relations with Kuala Lumpur may develop due to this incident, and may derail or delay the implementation of the Framework Agreement with the Bangsamoro MILF republic that has effectively disenfranchised the other Muslim clans in Mindanao from their ancestral homeland.
Thus, we have not yet seen the end of this turmoil in a teacup.
Be that as it may, there are lessons to be learned on how Japan handles these wayward issues without going to war or giving up what rightfully belongs to Japan, and patience.
Japan has had territorial disputes with neighbors such as Russia over the Kurile peninsula since the end of World War II; with South Korea over a few uninhabited and unproductive rock faces halfway between Japan and the Korean peninsula; and Japan is experiencing mounting harassment from China over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. China is likewise claiming the territories bordering the South China Sea that are also being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
For Japan, which has renounced war as a policy, the “strategy is to secure peace and prosperity through means based on common values such as human rights, democracy, market economy, and the rule of law,” and “to engage China in a structure for a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific region” for the sake of future generations.
The Philippines too must formulate a parametric framework to meet every contingency in accordance with the Constitution and the Charter of the United Nations with patience and firm resolve.
You be the judge
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(For comments and views please e-mail chaff_fromthegrain@yahoo.com.ph [1])
HERE AND THERE
The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) Sec. Gen, spokesperson, and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco is beginning to sound like a cry baby by constantly whining against the unsporting antics of the Liberal Party... For President Noynoy Aquino, you are either with me or against me, and the marching order is 12-0 senatorial sweep... PNoy has removed all stops and has thrown everything into the fray, including the Kitchen sink…The demolition hound dogs have been unleashed, and no opposition personalities have been spared from character assassination and dirty tricks... Toby, this is total war, and a no-holds-barred election... For the UNA, the party should focus on the excesses and corruption in the Aquino administration... Meanwhile, is it true that Pres. Noynoy Aquino was at first opposed to Benigno “Bam” Aquino running for the Senate under the Liberal Party? ...After UNA sent feelers, Sen. Frank Drilon intervened and persuaded the President to relent and endorse cousin “Bam” Aquino for the Senate... Since then, President Aquino seems determined to have Bam Aquino and Risa Hontiveros elected to the Senate... Incidentally, a good friend of the Philippines may be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia, and could be sympathetic to the proprietary claims of the Sultanate of Sulu... Malaysian opposition leader and head of People’s Justice Party coalition, Dr. Anwar Ibrahim, is hopeful that his coalition parties will defeat the incumbent National Front Coalition of Prime Minister Najib Razak in the national election soon to be called, but whose party has ruled Malaysia for five decades...
Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, who was acquitted in 2012 on a second sodomy case, and after prolonged incarceration dating back to the administration of Dr. Mahathir, is optimistic that the pivotal states of Sabah and Sarawak, where he believes his party is strong, may be the key states to his political victor... Abangan.
By the way, did you know that the first woman President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, 61 years old and single, is not only a veteran politician and legislator but is also a graduate of electronic engineering and the University of Grenoble in France? Her father, Gen. Park Chung-hee, President of Korea for 18 years, ruled the country with an iron hand and brutal governance, though Park Chung-hee is credited with Korea’s industrialization and modernization. He was assassinated in 1979. Pres. Park Geun-hye’s mother was earlier assassinated in 1974.
President Park Geun-hye was herself attacked in 2006 while campaigning when an escaped convict slashed her face with a utility knife that required 60 stitches and hours of surgery...
Meanwhile, the May, 2013, electoral exercise is one election where casting one’s vote for independents, party-list representatives, and non-mainstream party candidates will not be a waste of ballot and an exercise in futility... The fact is that candidates outside the two main political parties – LP and UNA – are outstanding leaders, highly qualified, experienced, with integrity, probity, and managerial expertise... So the public will know.
Links:
[1] mailto:chaff_fromthegrain@yahoo.com.ph