Geopolitics

By Alex P. Vidal

“Until the mind reflects the world, the world won’t reflect peace.” ― Abhijit Naskar

WHETHER we like it or don’t, we are part of geopolitics.

Even if we will “mind our own business” and ignore what is shaping up or going on, for instance, in the current conflict between Israel and Palestine; Ukraine and Russia; China and Taiwan; Haiti and the Dominican Republic, among other world current events, we are, in one way or the other, “involved” in these violence and restlessness.

Geopolitics is the study of how geography affects politics and international relations.

Our geography and politics or foreign policy are related and interconnected to the geographies and politics of the above-mentioned warring superpowers.

Within the field of geopolitics, analysts study actors—the individuals, organizations, companies, and national governments that carry out political, economic, and financial activities—and how they interact with one another.

We can’t claim we have nothing to do with the conflicts in other parts of the world because everything that occurs anywhere in the world today is interrelated.

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We have the globalization. We have the cyber and information technology that connect us to the rest of the universe.

We are signatories in many treaties and international agreements in politics, economy, security, agriculture, human rights, etcetera.

How can we “escape” from what is happening around the globe? No way.

Geopolitical risk is the risk associated with tensions or actions between actors that affect the normal and peaceful course of international relations.

Geopolitical risk tends to rise when the geographic and political factors underpinning country relations shift. A shift could arise from a change in policy, a natural disaster, a terrorist act, a theft, or war.

This month, for instance, the Philippines and the United States will carry out their biggest ever joint military drills, according to a Reuters report that quoted a spokesperson for the annual war games.

This year’s “Balikatan” or ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ drills also come against the backdrop of what the Philippines calls “aggressive” Chinese actions in the South China Sea.

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From April 11 to 28, the US Embassy in the Philippines said, more than 17,600 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the U.S. military will participate in Balikatan 2023, an annual bilateral exercise between the two allies and the largest iteration of Balikatan to date.

This year marks the 38th iteration of the exercise, incorporating training activities throughout the Philippines.

Approximately 5,400 AFP personnel and 12,200 U.S. military personnel will train shoulder-to-shoulder, developing interoperability and improved capability in the areas of maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban and aviation operations, cyber defense, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness.

The increase in participating personnel from Balikatan 2022’s 9,000 participants shows that the scope of the exercise grows consistently year after year.

The US Government has emphasized that “the Philippines is a key U.S. ally.”

We are “the largest recipient of U.S. military assistance, equipment, and training in the region. Together, the United States and the Philippines are committed to promoting regional peace and stability.”

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“Who are you?” was the first question Sophie Amundsen got from an anonymous letter sender in the New York Times bestseller “Sophies’ World”, a novel about the history of philosophy, written by Jostein Gaarder, author of “The Solitaire Mystery.”

Energy in the universe is already fixed; it can neither be added nor reduced. God is energy. He is in the river of molecules, river of intelligence, river of atoms running in our veins. Energy controls all the planets, constellations, galaxies in the universe that’s why they don’t collide. God is Energy, Energy is God–the Universal God (not just the God of people on Earth).

The evolution of human thought is among homo sapiens’ best contributions to civilization.

It is estimated that the Earth is 98 billion years old. Dinosaurs lived on earth for about 100 million years before they were annihilated by a cometary impact, among other theories.  We humans starting from homo sapiens have not even inhabited the Earth for one million years but many of us already think we are already the most knowledgeable creatures in the universe.

One manifestation of possible life in a certain planet is the presence of micro organisms. Scientists have reportedly found a micro organism in planet Mars. Was Mars inhabited by living creatures millions if not billions of years ago? How about in Jupiter, Saturn, among other planets in and outside the Solar System not yet explored by human beings from planet Earth?

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We are not alone. There are billions of galaxies, according to Carl Sagan. Thanks to Einstein who broadened the Law of Mechanics initiated by Galileo and Isaac Newton with his Theory of Relativity. Truly, scientific achievement in the 20th century has become the major yardstick with which to measure a nation’s cultural advancement.

Those who condemn the person who rejects an organized religion should study Plato’s “Allegory of the cave”.

In Brocka’s Brain, the late author Carl Sagan claimed that the brain of Dr. Paul Brocka, a genius scientist, had been preserved and was once displayed somewhere in France. How about Einstein’s brain? Was Brocka more famous than Albert?

Ayn Rand, author of “Atlas Shrugged”, was reportedly a cougar like Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of Europe’s most powerful women, Elizabeth I, Catherine II, and Mae West.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)