Acid Test for Aquino: Chinese Starve PH Marines at Disputed Shoal

China's latest purchase of 24 Su-35 multi role jet fighters and submarines
 from Russia may not only weaken Taiwan  air superiority
but further dwarf the militarily inferior Philippines.

BY MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

  Contingent of Philippine Marines

The public pronouncement of Chinese Major General Zhang Zhaozhong of the People’s Liberation Army on Chinese TV  to starve the Philippine Marines contingent in Ayungin Shoal did not only spawn a grave concern for countries who have stake at the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea but gave a reverberating chilling effect to the militarily weak Aquino Government of the Philippines.
           

Zhang said that his country’s naval strategy was to get rid of his country already occupied islands and shoals (One is Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, is 120 miles off of Zambales but 550 miles to the nearest Chinese port in China) from the Philippine military and fishermen through a Cabbage Strategy.
 Here’s an excerpt of what he said in the May 28, 2013 TV interview which was published too at the China Daily Mail:
"The fishermen conduct normal production there. In the area around the island, fishing administration ships and marine surveillance ships are conducting normal patrols while in the outer ring there are navy warships. The island is thus wrapped layer by layer like a cabbage. As a result, a cabbage strategy has taken shape. If the Philippines wants to go in, in the outermost area, it has first to ask whether our navy will allow it. Then it has to ask whether our fishery administration ships and marine surveillance ships will allow it. Therefore, our fishermen can carry out their production safely while our country’s marine rights and interests as well as sovereignty are safeguarded. Is that not satisfactory?"

On Ayungin Shoal, 105 nautical miles off of Palawan, General Zhang said:
 “We should do more such things in the future. For those small islands, only a few troopers are able to station on each of them, but there is no food or even drinking water there. If we carry out the “cabbage” strategy, you will not be able to send food and drinking water onto the islands. Without the supply for one or two weeks, the troopers stationed there will leave the islands on their own. Once they have left, they will never be able to come back. For many things, we have to grab the right timing to do them. Over the past few years, we have made a series of achievements at the Nansha Islands (the Spratly Islands), the greatest of which I think have been on the Huangyan Island, Meiji Reef (Mischief Reef) and Ren’ai Shoal (Ayungin Shoal)” 
On Ayungin Shoal, 105 nautical miles off of Palawan, General Zhang said:
 “We should do more such things in the future. For those small islands, only a few troopers are able to station on each of them, but there is no food or even drinking water there. If we carry out the “cabbage” strategy, you will not be able to send food and drinking water onto the islands. Without the supply for one or two weeks, the troopers stationed there will leave the islands on their own. Once they have left, they will never be able to come back. For many things, we have to grab the right timing to do them. Over the past few years, we have made a series of achievements at the Nansha Islands (the Spratly Islands), the greatest of which I think have been on the Huangyan Island, Meiji Reef (Mischief Reef) and Ren’ai Shoal (Ayungin Shoal)” 

Chinese Naval Special Forces

 ***

 I could see two scenarios incase Zhang’s unveiled threat become a reality:

1) Our poorly equipped Marines at Ayungin, whose provision from Navy ships has been blocked by the Chinese Navy, disgracefully capitulate and pack- up for home.

 2) the Aquino government, resolves to save face among the scandalized Filipino nation, ordered them to fight to death against the Chinese intrusion while our more than four decade old BRP Gregorio del Pilar(that I recently toured and wrote where you can accessed it at http://mortzortigoza.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-tour-php-biggest-and-fastest-warship.html) and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz blasted the modern Chinese Navy’s frigates with their 76 mm Italian made Oto Melara gun that fired 80 bullets, na singlaki ng batuta ni Dracula, per minute.

 The overpriced widow maker SIAI-Marchetti S-211
 is a turbofan-powered military trainer aircraft 
designed and originally marketed by SIAI-Marchetti for the 
poorly equipped Philippine Airforce. 

Does Aquino have the balls to go for broke for the second option?

 The Sinos would surely retaliate by sending more ships and troops, not to mention any of the 200 Chinese made Chengdu J-10, 76 Russian made Sukhoi Su-30MKK ,76 Russian made Sukhoi Su-27 Air Superiority Fighter, 180 China made Shenyang J-8 Interceptor Fighter, 350 China made, Chengdu J-7 Fighter/Interceptor,70 China made Xian JH-7 Fighter bomber to annihilate to smithereens not only our Marines at Ayungin but our BRPs Gregorio del Pilar, Ramon Alcaraz, and our 13 ground support and jet training Italian made Aermacchi A-211 Jets (where one of them is being displayed now by our low moral air force pilots - who ponder how to land a pilot job at PAL or Cebu Pacific - at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay) just like what they did to the Vietnamese soldiers in the Battle of the Paracel Islands in January 19, 1974.

With Mischief Reef, Scarborough Shoal, and parts of Ayungin Reef occupied by the Chinese already by building concrete structures at the first two, it’s high time for the 16th Congress to amend some provisions in the Constitution for the return of the U.S bases.

 With the hands-me -down battle ships given by Uncle Sam to us sailing side by side with modern U.S navy warships and submarines (armed with Tomahawk missiles, harpoons, and MK 38 Model 2 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), the last one  is completely remote-controlled using an electro-optitical/infrared sensor ball and laser range finder to find and track targets just like at the movie entitled “Battleship” at HBO) escorting the beleaguered Filipino fishermen in our islets and shoals there. 

With the incessant intrusion of the Sinos in our 200 miles Economic Exclusive Zone (where China was also a signatory in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Filipinos who watch these blatant and patent trespasses would surely be scandalized.

 These could be their rallying point for the amendment of the Constitution for the return of the Yanks (who were booted out in 1991 by those former and hypocrite Senators who thought they have the God given monopoly to the closure of the bases despite majority of the Filipinos opposed them) and not the xenophobic 60-40 percent economic provision that is biased for limited capital Filipino oligarchs responsible for the Diaspora of the Filipinos abroad and the debilitating more than 3 million unemployed presently and the crushing poverty rate among the 27 percent of the population of 95 million Flips.

U.S aircraft carrier moored at Subic Bay in Zambales, Philippines

 Ordinary Filipinos do not understand the political or economic wisdom of the 60-40, but surely they understand the shameless affront to the national pride by the wanton Chinese incursions and occupations of our islets as being shown at the nighttime prime time TV news programs of ABS-CBN and GMA-7 at their living rooms.

 (You can send comments at totomortz@yahoo.com).

PH Elective Officials For Sale

BY MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

 Some candidates for the mayoralty spent hundreds of millions of pesos to buy votes in the May 13 election. Some councilors spent up to P5 million each just to be on the top 10 in the city poll or top 8 in the municipal contest. A mayor and councilor receive a monthly pay of more or less P100 thousand and P80 thousand, respectively, during their three years of service. The compensation and perks they legally received from the government are not enough to recoup the millions of pesos they spent months or years of ingratiation with the masses before the May 13 derby. Those monies the mayor earned in his earlier stint as hizzoner he got through illegal means like cut or S.O.P from government projects under his watch and illegal number games like jueteng and drop balls have been reverted back to the hoi polloi through vote buying and dole outs.
 The millions of pesos an elected councilor spent during the campaign period could no longer be recovered in his three years stint since he got no power as big as the mayor who can dip his finger on illegal funds. Both the mayor and councilor spent these gargantuan amounts just to buy a position that give them prestige whenever they go to social functions.
***

 I’ve been telling some friends that politics in the Philippines is a game for the moneyed and not for the intelligent. You may have a master or doctoral degree or you passed the BAR examination but you would still lose the election to a deep pocketed high school graduate – businessman who generously give monies to the poor in their time of need years before the election. Filipinos voters treat one’s generosity with debt of gratitude. They will reciprocate that gesture in the ballot boxes  

***
 The other day I was with a political operator where we dropped by at the session hall of a first class town in Central Pangasinan. We found the vice mayor there exchanging pleasantries with reelected councilors who are scions of multi-millionaire families in the town. Some of them spent millions of pesos through vote buying and dole outs just to win their reelection bid in an office that gives them roughly P80,000 a month salary. “Please tell your father that you run for the PCL (Philippine Councilors League-Pangasinan Chapter) so that you can be a member of the provincial board,” the operator told a young councilor whose father is a big time government contractor.

 “Magkano ang bilihan ng boto para manalo manong (how much we are going to spend to buy votes to win the PCL, big brother)”?

My operator friend told him and his curious colleague in the August chamber that the province has 44 towns. He explained that the trade dictates that he has to dine and wine the mayor, vice mayor, and eight dads of the town in a plush restaurant or hotel to ingratiate with them before he shells out the following amount:

Mayor, P20,000; Vice Mayor, P15, 000, each of the eight councilors, P10,000 or a total of P5,720,000. “Lalaki pa iyan pag iyong rival mo offers the same amount (Your P6 million spikes if your rival for the PCL offers the same amount),” the operator explained.

Now dear readers you wonder probably what the heck happens to a solon spending millions of pesos for a position that gives only a P100,000 monthly salary in his three years stint at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial board)?

 My answer: Prestige man, that stupid prestige!
 ***

 Was this a tall tale?
 A close associate of outgoing Dagupan City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim told me recently that if Lim was not struck by a stroke on the eve of the May 13 polls, he would have dispensed the content of ten suit cases (maleta) full of P1 thousand bills to voters around the 31 villages strong city.

 “Bawat maleta naglalaman ng P20 million (or P200 million in all ten suit cases),” he said.

He cited that the day before the poll, Lim was seen carrying a calculator on which he computed and recomputed how much sum would be given to each of the voters.

“He told me that this election (May 13) would be the most expensive for him,” the source said. Around 10 pm of May 12, Lim leaders have been distributing monies all over the villages in the city.

“Pag pointer (who help identified voters) P1000.00, pag may I.D P500.00, iyong walang I.D tawag namin doon “special” tag P300.00,” a voter in Barangay Tapuac said.
A voter and a media man in Barangay Bonuan Gueset told me that around 10 pm of May 12, Lim supporters have been given each of the voters in his compound P1,000 bill. The associate said those bundles of monies in the case would be part of the second wave that should commence at 4 am of May 13.

 “Tag dalawang libo ang planong bigayan. Pang-kontra ni mayor sa pagbili ng mga tao ng kalaban (mayoral bet Belen Fernandez)”.
He said he could not forget how financially challenging was the May 13 election. He said the leaders of Fernandez have been buying votes all over the city unabated by the police the whole day before the poll.

 “Ako pinupuntahan ako ng mga SWAT (Special Weapon Action Team) at tinatanong ako kung meron akong pakurong (vote buying) sa bahay ko kasi maraming tao,” he said.
He said had Lim not suffered a stroke the day before the election, Fernandez could not win the poll as Lim was only the one in the family who could decide how to dump the ten big suit cases full of monies.

READ MY OTHER BLOG:

How Mayor, Guv, Solon Steal to Fund Their Election

(Send comments to totomortz@yahoo.com)