By John Nery
The Philippine Daily Inquirer-June 12
The defeatism of the Duterte administration in almost all matters relating to the Middle Kingdom is pronounced and, ultimately, unpatriotic. It shortchanges the country’s best interests, and mocks the independence proclaimed 120 years ago today. It betrays the Philippine legacy of heroism which, for a few years at the turn of the 20th century, helped inspire Chinese nationalism.
It may be that administration officials are unaware of this history, but it is certainly the case that they are unworthy of it. They treat Beijing as an unstoppable power, the bully in the region’s schoolyard, and their China policy can be described, fairly, as the smaller bully’s characteristic treatment of the bigger bully: appeasement. Even their response to criticism of their China policy—that critics want to wage war—promotes Beijing’s view, not Manila’s.
Read more at: http://opinion.inquirer.net/113882/philippines-lost-cause#ixzz5IOGD8w9T
First published in: The Philippine Daily Inquirer
