Voices of the Self-Serving, Voices of the Selfless

"If we say yes to something we believe is wrong now, what guarantee is there that the wrong will not be further exacerbated down the line?” he said. He later added, “At what point do you say, ‘Enough is enough’? Well, the world has to say it — remember that the Sudetenland was given in an attempt to appease Hitler to prevent World War II."

President Benigno Simeon Aquino

The New York Times

"Aquino’s statement unnecessarily demonizes the leaders of China in an effort to gather international support for the Philippines’ claims to islands in the South China Sea. It is a gross disservice to the Philippines’ solid historial, territorial and legal bases for its claims to the said islands."

Press Statement

Kilusang Mayo Uno

Credit

The verbal spat goes on between the governments of Manila and Beijing over claims of the islets in the West Philippine Sea. Its pitch, more abrasive and undiplomatic as one leader feels the noose tightens around his neck.

And in a strange turn of events, the elected President of this island-nation compared the faceless oligarchs of the CCP to Hitler, when he demanded a territory belonging to Czechoslovakia turned over to him.

Sudetenland, as the region was known had a sizable German population. It was the Industrial heartland of a country threatened to be overwhelmed by a neighboring military power.

Fearing a forced annexation may lead to another strife, the war-weary nations of Western Europe resolved to a compromise. In exchange for peace, Sudetenland will be ceded to the Nazis as a form of appeasement. The Czechs felt betrayed, of course.

Undettered, Hitler and his cohorts desired more. Lebensraum, Breathing space for the Aryans of the great Teutonic tribes. Barely a year after gaining a territory from Prague, the Germans invaded Poland. This was the prologue of the Second World War.

There's a reason for Pnoy to ring the alarm bells.

As hushed voices already suggest, the Bajo de Masinloc off the coast of Zambales no longer belongs to the Philippines. There are talks of invasion of Pag-Asa Island, the second largest outcrop in that part of the sea. And the more we keep our voices down; our Yellow-skinned brothers to the north will be emboldened to pursue their aspirations. Divide and conquer they already apply, and their Communist lackeys in the country now speak on their behalf.

Somebody has already kowtowed to the Mandarins.

Whenever I get to read the news, and these talks of Beijing bullying its neighbors into submission comes up, I can't help but be amazed at what the President is doing. For a leader, whose ancestors sailed from the same kingdom, whose masters now plan to chip away portions of his homeland, his refusal to give in to pressure, to endure humiliation in the face of a much stronger adversary, to speak out when other voices are silenced by threats of retribution is a feat no other leader of this republic has ever done. 

Never in recent memory has the Kilusang Mayo Uno, or their minions ever accused Beijing of imperialism. Their advocacy, while speaking for workers' welfare, never breathed a word about the fisher folks being harrased in waters that used to be their source of livelihood. With this in mind, one can't help but make a comparison: two voices - noises in the humdrum of domestic worries. 

In moments of contemplation, an observer asks:

With Beijing getting offended, and the result may be the expulsion of Filipino workers in their realms, whose self-interest serve the nation better?