Conflict grows in Philippines as retired general accuses govt of being US pawn in SCS provocation

Tensions in the Philippines have recently been raised over the country's South China Sea policy, after a retired officer criticized Manila's current approach as making the country a US pawn and even "another Ukraine" in its geopolitical power struggle with China, while the military slammed the comments as a "defeatist" narrative.

According to the Manila Times, Romeo Poquiz, a retired Philippine Air Force General, on July 14 posted on Facebook about his position on the strength of the country's "arbitral victory" nine years after the award, asking the question "What did we really win?"

Poquiz's post came two days after July 12, which marks the ninth anniversary of the "2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea." A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on the day that the "award" is nothing but a piece of waste paper that is illegal, null and void, and non-binding. The spokesperson added that China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea will not be affected by the "award" in any way, according to Xinhua News Agency.  

Poquiz claimed that almost a decade on, the Philippines has found itself at the center of a power play between the US and China, that the win was only "on paper" and that the country was slowly turning into another Ukraine.

He said fighting China head-on to "defend sovereignty" without a real plan is a trap. 

"It's a tactical move that serves US interests more than our own…It's not strategy. It's provocation," he wrote in Facebook. 

"Are we being turned into a launchpad for someone else's missiles? An 'unsinkable aircraft carrier' in the Indo-Pacific?"

"We need leaders who think long-term, who can defend sovereignty without turning Filipinos into cannon fodder…History already taught us what naïveté, arrogance, or incompetence can cost," Poquiz said. 

Poquiz's remarks, despite gaining support from most netizens who left comments, were rejected by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). 

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, a spokesperson of the AFP, slammed Poquiz's statement, describing it as "misleading, defeatist and alarmist," according to the Manila Times. 

He said the AFP expected more from its former members to boost the nation's morale and not weaken it with such statements.

According to the Manila Bulletin, Poquiz served as the commander of the Philippine Air Force's 2nd Air Division before retiring in 2014.

Trinidad stressed that the Philippines was a sovereign state with its own national interests. "All the actions of the Armed Forces are in furtherance of this national interest. We will not fight for the interest of another country nor will we be dictated by to them," Trinidad said, according to the Manila Times report. 

In response to Trinidad's remarks, Poquiz said in a Facebook post on Friday that Trinidad implied he was betraying the Philippines. 

"I love the Philippines a hundred times more than Admiral Trinidad and those who are quick to hurl insults simply for raising hard truths," Poquiz said, "I will never apologize for putting the lives and future of Filipinos above geopolitical theatrics."

"We are living in dangerous times. There is a real and present risk that the Philippines may be drawn into a larger power struggle between China and the United States. That's not defeatism. That's called strategic foresight — something our tactically-minded generals and admirals seem to severely lack. It is also the kind of critical thinking we should demand from our leaders, both in and out of uniform," he added. 

"Are we truly defending our sovereignty — or are we unknowingly offering ourselves as cannon fodder for someone else's war?... Are we making our own decisions — or are we being herded down a path in the name of 'mutual defense partnerships' that come with hidden costs?" Poquiz said. 

"Let us not be pawns. Let us be wise. Let us be Filipino first," he added.