Propaganda war vs China urged

Sen. Francis Escudero INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines should launch a propaganda war on its South China Sea dispute with China to gain more international support but the talking should be left to diplomats and not to the head of the military, according to Sen. Francis Escudero.

The senator said he was surprised at Armed Forces Chief Gen. Pio Catapang presiding at a recent news conference to brief the media on the progress of Chinese reclamation activities in the disputed South China Sea region, which he stressed was not the right thing to do for the country’s top military official.

“This is a job for diplomats because this is a matter for diplomacy, not war,” Escudero told reporters.

At the weekly Kapihan sa Senado forum on Wednesday, Escudero underscored the need for the country to convince the world about the seriousness of China’s continued aggression in the South China Sea region and for the international community to be engaged in the issue.

Escudero said a propaganda war was better than engaging in a real war not only because the country has no capability to fight the military might of China but also because war was “an outmoded way of settling disputes between nations.”

He said that the only way to resolve an issue was to get massive support for a position taken, in this case the Philippines’ assertions against China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea as outlined in its nine-dash line policy.

He suggested that the government produce infomercials and advocacy advertisements in various forums, including in international media like CNN and the British Broadcasting Corp. so that other nations can see what was really happening in the disputed areas and understand the situation.

Escudero said the Department of Foreign Affairs should be on top of this propaganda offensive and should tap the help of the Department of Tourism.

“We not only make the Philippines popular, we also put out there China’s bullying of us,” he added.

Escudero noted that Catapang has been issuing statements on the dispute when this was supposed to be the job of diplomats.

“We are trying to keep the issue from ending up in chaos and in a shooting war. But this becomes impossible if the Chief of Staff makes statements,” he said.

Catapang’s statements would give the impression that the issue was a military and not a diplomatic one.

He said the government was actually pursuing two tracks on the issue—diplomatic and legal.

But even if the government should go all-out in engaging in a propaganda war, Escudero said it should also look into holding back-channeling talks with China.

Meanwhile, Malacañang on Wednesday said that a Chinese tabloid attack on the Philippines betrayed Chinese “insecurity” with regard to the Philippines.

“We don’t understand where this insecurity of the Chinese towards us is coming from. Where do we have the wherewithal to compete against China as a superpower?” said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.–With Nikko Dizon