In the history of the world, there have always been nations with powerful armies pouncing on weaker neighbors. These small nations are forced to form alliances to push back against the aggressors, and in most cases, are able to stop the aggression. Such were the cases during World War II when Germany invaded much of Europe, until the US-British alliance, joined later by Russia, came to the rescue and repulsed Hitler’s army. The same was the case in Asia, where Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s powerful military bombed Pearl Harbor and gobbled up neighboring countries, stopped four years later by the US Army working with Australia and the resistance movements in the occupied territories.
But alliances are not constant as the countries’ interests change. The former aggressor Germany is now allied with the US and other European countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in a bid to hold back the new aggressor and former ally, Russia. The same is true in Asia, where former ally and new aggressor China is trying to impose its will on neighboring countries, including the Philippines. Again, the countries being threatened by the new aggressor need to form into alliances led by the US to hold back China.
It is in this light that we see the recent trilateral meet among the leaders of the US, the Philippines and Japan, the former aggressor and now ally, in Washington D.C. the past week.
On Thursday, April 11, US President Joe Biden, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japan’s Prime Minister met in Washington D.C. to push back on Beijing’s stepped-up pressure on Manila in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines told allies it is determined to assert its sovereign rights in the South China Sea at a meeting with US allies to show support for Manila over an increasingly fraught standoff with China in the strategic waterway.
During his meeting with President Marcos, President Biden reaffirmed the US’ “ironclad” commitment to the defense of the Philippines. He also reassured Marcos that any attack on a Philippine aircraft, vessel, or armed forces in the South China Sea would invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).
During the meeting, the three leaders issued a Joint Vision Statement, which expressed their opposition to aggressive actions by China’s Coast Guard and fishing militia in the West Philippine Sea. They emphasized that the Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, as affirmed by the final and legally binding July 12, 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling, and called on China to comply with this ruling.
In reaction, Beijing on Friday criticized the US, Japan and the Philippines and defended its actions in the South China Sea as “lawful.”
On the same day, China summoned Japanese and Philippine diplomats to express dissatisfaction over negative comments about it aired during a summit of the three leaders.
In reaction to Biden’s assurance on the MDT, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said the Mutual Defense Treaty between the Philippines and the United States will not affect China’s position on the South China Sea issue. “The US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty will not move us a bit from our will and resolve,” the Chinese embassy said.
Before the Summit, China asserted its sovereign rights over Pagasa Island on Thursday, accusing the Philippines, in return, of “illegally occupying” the area.
In a separate meeting with President Marcos, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that President Biden is proposing a $128 million congressional allocation to fund projects at Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in the Philippines.
Back in Manila, President Marcos told reporters his administration has no plan to give the US access to more Philippine military bases and stressed that the American military’s presence in several camps and sites so far was sparked by China’s aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
President Marcos said the cooperation agreement among the three countries will change the dynamic in the South China Sea and the region, while seeking to assure China it was not a target.
Upon his return to Manila, the President was met by reports that former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, during a rally in Tagum, Davao del Norte had called on the military to withdraw its support from the President because of his moves in the sea dispute with China, which Alvarez, who has previously called on Marcos to resign, said could cause a conflict that could result in many deaths. But the AFP rejected the call, saying it would keep its support to the Constitution and chain of command.
Before his departure for the US, President Marcos had called on Alvarez’ friend and ally, former president Rodrigo Duterte, to clarify what pact he supposedly entered into with China and what he purportedly compromised in that agreement.
During his press conference with reporters on Friday, Marcos said the government will not hand Duterte over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) when asked by reporters.
Meanwhile, another friend and close ally of Duterte, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, has been ordered arrested again, this time for qualified human trafficking.
Duterte has declined to facilitate the surrender of Quiboloy, saying he did not want to be part of his legal problem. Duterte said he had just talked to his friend, who, he said, must be in hiding in one of his many houses in a Davao village.
Elsewhere, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles on Israel in retaliation for an Israeli air strike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria that killed senior officers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and several others.
With the help of the US, Britain, France and Jordan, Israel foiled the massive attack which caused very minimal damage and injuries, but the attack raised fears of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
The massive attack prompted President Biden to call for a meeting of the G7 nations “to coordinate a united diplomatic response” to the “brazen attack.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called for an emergency meeting of his War Cabinet, but the meeting ended Sunday night without a decision on how Israel will respond to Iran’s attack, an Israeli official said.
Instead, Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, urged the UN Security Council to “impose all possible sanctions on Iran before it’s too late” and “condemn Iran for their terror”.
World leaders are urging Israel not to launch a retaliatory attack on Iran. Many of Israel’s democratic allies have forcefully condemned Iran’s attack but have expressed concern about escalating the situation in the Middle East.
Biden, for his part, warned Netanyahu the US. will not take part in a counter-offensive against Iran if Israel decides to retaliate for a mass drone and missile attack on Israeli territory overnight.
A day before the Iran attack, hundreds of armed Israeli settlers stormed a village in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to several homes and cars in one of the largest attacks by settlers this year, according to Palestinian officials.
In Ukraine, the country’s army chief said on Saturday the situation on the eastern front had worsened in recent days as Russia has intensified its armored assaults and battles rage for control of a village west of the devastated city of Bakhmut.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed that he wouldn’t accept any plan for his nation to cede territory to Russia in a bid to end the war, dismissing an idea that former President Donald Trump is reported to favor.
Here in the US this morning, former President Donald Trump is on trial in New York City, where he is facing felony charges related to a 2016 hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. It marks the first time in history that a former U.S. president has been tried on criminal charges. He called the trial an “assault on America.”
On Friday, Trump gave House Speaker Mike Johnson a political lifeline Friday amid discontent with his leadership among conservatives in the House, saying, “I stand with the speaker, we’ve had a very good relationship.”
Last week, we ran an article by CNN’s Brad Lendon about the Fall of Bataan, the subsequent Bataan Death March, and more. Contributor Sluggo Rigor, a son of a USAFFE Major in the Battle of Besang Pass that saw the surrender of Jjapanese General Yamashita and Admiral Shimamoto, ending the Japanese invasion of the Philippines during World War II, narrates his father’s story.
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