Manila should stop playing role of willing pawn in Washington's geopolitical game

Beijing has repeatedly called on Manila to put aside the South China Sea disputes and join hands with it to promote practical cooperation in areas such as oil and gas development, fisheries, maritime search and rescue, and environmental protection. The Philippine government had reaffirmed such a development agreement after talks earlier this year renewed the neighbors' consensus on temporarily shelving their respective sovereignty claims.

As Beijing has proposed, such an arrangement would reduce tensions and foster cooperation, transforming the contested areas from potential time bombs for conflict into the means to foster cooperation and build trust, to the benefit of both countries and the Asia-Pacific as a whole.

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of hawkish voices within the Philippine government when it comes to handling its relations with China, and Manila has reneged on that gentleman's agreement. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is one such voice, and he has definitely distinguished himself in terms of absurdity and ludicrousness with his latest remarks trying to sling mud at China.

Following China's firm opposition to the Philippine plan to purchase and deploy a US midrange missile system in the country, Teodoro issued a statement on Tuesday seeking to describe the provocative step his government is ready to take as "modest capability development" that is beyond reproach. Exposing his prejudiced view of China, he accused the Communist Party of China of wrongdoings, accusing it of "sponsoring criminal syndicates and subversive organizations beyond (China's) shores, and being unwilling to uphold human rights". Such remarks, that are symptomatic of a Cold War mentality, serve to reveal a chaotic state of mind that can be dangerous given Teodoro's capacity as the country's defense chief.

This is not the first time that Teodoro has voiced such vehement anti-China rhetoric. But his personal animosity toward China is particularly disturbing given his government position. He has even questioned the necessity of conducting diplomacy with China and tried to jeopardize the efforts of regional countries to finalize the South China Sea code of conduct that aims to maintain peace and stability in the region. He claimed that "discussions and consultations are the most useless phrase" in maritime dispute settlement, and he has personally impeded and obstructed military-to-military contacts and exchanges between China and the Philippines.

His words and deeds run counter to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's instruction to de-escalate maritime tensions through dialogue, and contradict both countries' diplomatic efforts to manage differences through communication and consultation. Teodoro should know as well as anybody that the deployment of the mid-range missile system will not make the Philippines safer. Rather, by seeking to introduce external forces into the region, Manila will only heighten tensions and spark an arms race in the region, which will pose a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

Yet it seems Manila is content to be ushered to the front of Washington's regional strategy in the mistaken belief it provides some protection. Last year, the Philippines allowed the United States to access four more Philippine military bases under an enhanced defense cooperation deal, bringing the total to nine. By continuously pushing the envelope when it comes to its maritime disputes with China, the Philippines obviously hopes to pave the way for invoking its mutual defense treaty with the US so as to secure US military assistance in case of any military confrontation with China. Its bidding for the deployment of the US missile system is a move toward that end.

What Manila is doing goes against the trend of times, especially because this part of the world aspires to peace and prosperity, not missiles and confrontation. The Philippines has already caused heavy damage to its national credibility by reneging on its earlier agreement and its prior promise to remove the US mid-range missile system from the country once the 19-day joint military exercise with the US ended on May 10. It should not compound its mistakes by continuing to be a willing pawn in the US-orchestrated geopolitical game targeting China.