Uncle Sam is no ‘Knight in sparkling armor’ – Fisherfolk to Justice Carpio
Manila, Philippines – “Mr. Carpio’s statement was very far from reality. The United States (U.S.) has repeatedly said that it won’t engage in any military activity against China over the parcels of islands in the West Philippine Sea. If the U.S. is really into defending our sovereignty, how come it didn’t prevent China from constructing artificial islands in our waters even protect the Filipino fishers in Scarborough Shoal?” Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya Chairperson said.
This was the reaction of the militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) to Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s statement during the closing ceremony of the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex 33) at Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Taguig City on Tuesday saying ‘only the United States can stop China from its saber-rattling in the South China Sea’.
“We’re afraid to say that Mr. Carpio was wrong on so many levels. For one, the U.S. won’t defend us from any external conflicts; much more to China which the former is a huge debtor and has more geopolitical and economic interests than in our country. It’s difficult to think that U.S. would waste a single round against China given its long economic ties with the latter,” Hicap said.
Recent public data available shows that U.S. is indebted to China to a whopping $1.2 trillion, not to mention its $65.77 billion worth of direct investments to Beijing and a valuable market for American products.
“Thinking that U.S. would cross swords with China and take up the cudgels for our country at the cost of putting its economic interest in China at risk looks improbable. Mr. Carpio should accept the fact that only our own and collective strength can defend our sovereignty without relying to any foreign power,” Hicap said.
The fisherfolk group also said U.S. is the single biggest hindrance towards a peaceful settlement with China and is a threat to our national security and sovereignty. China claims that it’s the continuous joint patrols initiated by the U.S. that makes them intensify their military presence and aggression in the disputed waters.
“Don’t make Uncle Sam a hero because it’s not; they are actually the Filipino people’s number one and long time enemy courtesy of its unequal foreign and economic policies imposed to our country. We should support and take advantage of President Duterte’s anti-U.S. pronouncement to transform it into concrete actions and to pursue an independent foreign policy that will entangle our country from the prolonged colonial control,” Hicap ended. ###
