Teeter-tottering to perdition

By: Reyshimar Arguelles

Apparently, you just can’t stop the meme machine from making light of the fact that the U.S. will again be on the brink of war. As Iran mourns the death of Qassem Soleimani from a drone strike in Baghdad, people have begun speculating on the alliances that will play a principal role in the next global conflict.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There is little chance that this latest debacle by the world’s self-proclaimed policeman would reel the other superpowers in. But if things do get dirtier, then taking sides would be unavoidable and the Philippines has to make the difficult decision of picking the right one.

Indeed, Duterte himself has made that call when he told reporters he would side with the U.S. if ever Filipinos are harmed as the situation in Iran escalates. In the three years of his presidency, Duterte has always shown a resolve to protect the welfare of Filipinos overseas which form a large volume of his electoral base. Preparations are already in place to evacuate OFWs in the Middle East who could be vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by Iran on U.S. allies such as Israel and Saud Arabia.

For now, the Malacañang remains neutral as it nervously observes the situation. To his supporters, Duterte’s concern supposedly reflects his wisdom when it comes to dealing with international crises. And sure enough, the standoff between the U.S. and Iran somehow affirms this administration’s decision to distance itself from Washington.

It could not simply risk bringing the Philippines to a large-scale conflict that could go beyond regional borders and involve Iran’s closest allies, Russia and the People’s Republic of China

While we can always applaud the President for showing a pacifist stance, Duterte should have shown the same level of wisdom in his administration’s dealings with Beijing. It is important to note that China, along with Russia, vetoed the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Iran-backed government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Should the Philippines, by association, find itself on the other side of the defense should a shooting war between the U.S. and Iran ensues?

Beijing has yet to issue its formal position, but its Foreign Minister, in a phone call to Tehran, has called on the U.S. to “seek resolutions through dialogue instead of abusing force.” This is peculiar for a country that has, time and again, put the Southeast Asian region on edge with its strategic objectives.

The Duterte administration, for its part, can only watch as the U.S. helmed by a sleazy salesman could likely to spell doom with his brashness and ego-tripping. But it should have demonstrated vigilance when it comes to securing our territorial waters from a regional hegemon.

Unfortunately, people believe that the country has to choose sides. But whichever faction our leaders will place us, we could not simply ignore the fact that we always have a choice not to side with superpowers hell-bent on maintaining their influence regardless of the massive loss of life it entails.

In other words, the Philippines could still follow a pacifist stance without dropping its own territorial interests. Spokesperson Panelo can deny China’s malicious presence in Philippine waters, this government cannot simply brush aside the fact that China is no different from its economic and military rival.

It seems as though the Duterte administration is teeter-tottering between two equally horrible superpowers. It is a dangerous game to play when both the U.S. and the Russia-China-Iran clique have for some time been courting conflict of a higher form.

It is only fair for Duterte not to make the call. The government must do what it can to rescue the thousands of OFWs who will be caught in the crossfire, but it should do the same thing when it has to protect the country’s own interests closer to home.