The Philippines and the not so remote, Remote war

For decades the Philippine armed forces is at war within. Insurgency has been around since the end of World War ll. Secessionist and separatist groups had divided, multiplied and changed names since the 70’s. Banditry took the limelight in the recent past with kidnapping and killing of other nationals in the southern Philippines. The older armed forces had fought in Korea and Vietnam, and the current ones had a contingent in some of the most troubled spot in the world under the auspices of the United Nations. Indeed, prolonged and protracted fighting, amid the scarcity, is something that the Philippine armed forces had learned to live by and die with.

Needless to state, fighting is not much of strange word or activity for the Philippine military. Its long exposure to low-intensity conflict had honed its spirit and skills and relative to its assigned mission, may be considered as one of the best in the world. But then, being infantry based, whose experiences rotates around non-conventional arena,  the Philippine military is and will probably be (at least in the next decade) a “tourist “ in the current trend of remote warfare.

The inadequacy is not at all the fault of the Philippine military. Rather, it is the sum of all mistakes factored among others by political priorities and instability, economic limitations, socio/religious bickering and total reliance to defense pact with other nations particularly with the United States.

Recent events highlighted the inadequacy. The growing assertiveness of neighboring China to reclaim almost all of the sea south of its mainland to include those that are well within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines and other Asian countries forces a mixed feeling of helplessness and repulsiveness that in metaphor could be the same as the feeling of a boy holding a barbecue stick, who is suddenly in the face with a yellow mad dog, the latter growling in dripping saliva, with fangs and claws poised into strike. The boy did not run, he stood still and extended the pointed end of the barbecue stick forward and he waited. Indeed, the boy had needed much ...more than a barbecue stick.

Notwithstanding and barring all the other factors, the Philippine notion of the defense pact with other nation needs re-orientation. The defense pact must stand behind any conflict that the Philippines has to face. The Philippines should assume fully the main role in the theater of adversity when its own interest is at stake. It should not expect, much more obligate other nations, ally or not, to sacrifice their sons to fight a battle that is not theirs. It must show the world that it is prepared to assert its right and belief on its own; it must be willing to do the ultimate sacrifice ahead of the others, hence, deserving the respect of its ally, it should not look back and grope for a helping hand because chances are, it won’t be there. It should face forward and instead allow time for the conscience of others to run parallel with its own. Then, maybe help will come. It should not decide its future on the basis of what others believe it must do. It must based its resolve on what it believe should be done now amid the impending reality, not on what it hopes to have. It must strive not to remain as a tourist in the world run by remote, much less in the war that will be fought with remote. It should maximize its resources to achieve effectiveness and functionality while taking advantage of its geography. Being modern is not necessarily being efficient and effective. It should continue to improvise according to what is practical and needed at the instance. Appropriate missile batteries standing on coastal towns and self-propelled or towed barges deployed near EEZ boundaries can be more persuasive and less provocative, compared to frigates and LIFT jets that are more vulnerable and expensive in operational terms. Long range radars to monitor encroachment in territorial boundaries synchronized with the missile operating and targeting systems is an essential element of remote warfare that a self-respecting nation cannot do without. A large fleet of small but fast missile boat can saturate large but slower carriers and destroyers. It may also have a greater rate of survivability than frigates or corvettes. Moreso, one can safely assume that the foregoing can be put into operational status in a shorter period of time.

The band wagon of modernity is a double edged sword; one could be false the other is real. Military capability is not founded first on getting the latest in technology but rather it must be subservient to the strategy and tactical doctrine one has adopted to repulse a perceived enemy. The Philippine military is honed in asymmetric warfare; its procurement of military hardware given its meager resources should be able to support the skill it has acquired over the years to give a good fight in a not so remote, remote war.