Backyard bully China should never for a moment think Filipinos would cower in fear over its brazen efforts to annex the entire South China Sea through the use of brute military force, threat and intimidation.

A deeply troubling example of China’s expansionist policy in the West Philippine Sea, which overlaps the SCS, was its failed recent attempt to block a medical evacuation of a Filipino soldier from the BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal.

Come again? What part of “humanitarian mission” did those Chinese not understand? At any rate, the Chinese can do what they want and we will do what serves our best interest as a nation.

For centuries, we, Filipinos, have fought off foreign invaders and have gone abroad to fight alongside peacekeeping forces to help check petty tyrants who had fancied themselves as the next Genghis Khan incarnate.

So what if we’re like a corgi facing off against a Doberman? The Philippines should continue asserting its territorial and sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea against this neighboring thug.

That despot in Beijing and his generals are well-advised to revisit recent history to educate themselves that over 7,000 Filipino soldiers faced off against Chinese forces during the Korean War in the 1950s.

Filipinos died in that war all because the Philippines stood firm in the face of aggression and sent soldiers under the banner of the United Nations to quell a North Korean invasion backed by China. It was not merely an act of helping fight a proxy war with staunch ally the United States, but a commitment to uphold international law.

Thanks to that multilateral intervention, the Korean War ended in a stalemate, thereby allowing the South Koreans to live in peace and thrive economically, even as they watched in dismay empty store shelves in the communist north.

Younger generations of Filipinos may want to know too that they are getting to enjoy South Korea’s vibrant K-Pop culture because their own country did not vacillate from helping an international effort to fight China-backed North Korea.

In that war, as North Korean forces swept into South Korea, the UN called for an international coalition to restore peace and stability, with the Philippines deploying the Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK).

The contingent, for whom the late former President Fidel V. Ramos, if memory serves me right, saw action, rotated five combat battalions, with Filipinos showcasing exceptional bravery and resilience in battles across the Korean peninsula.

Yes, Filipino troops fought valiantly in key engagements such as Waegwan, Gimcheon, and the Imjin River, many times against tall odds that resulted in some 100 being killed in action. Many more were wounded.

Like Beijing’s use of its coast guard as a subterfuge to its real military intent in the WPS, China in the Korean War deployed its “Chinese People’s Volunteer Army.”

And with catastrophic results too that should prompt Chinese citizens at present to consider removing their madman of a leader before they are, like their forebears, plunged into a bloody war, fed as cannon fodders.

China’s “human wave” attack, using sheer number of soldiers to go charging frontlines, ultimately led to unthinkable losses, with estimates of over a million Chinese soldiers perishing. This starkly illustrates the human cost of aggression by those who feast on steak and get sloshed on wine while their soldiers rot on the battlefield.

Today, China’s aggressive actions in the West Philippine Sea are reminiscent of its past miscalculations during the Korean War. By attempting to enforce its expansive territorial claims and disrupting Filipino activities within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, China risks igniting a broader conflict.

China must learn from its historical mistakes. Its current expansionist policies in the West Philippine Sea are unlikely to yield long-term success. They only serve to galvanize international opposition and strengthen the resolve of nations like the Philippines.

Beijing should recognize that in today’s interconnected world, coercion and aggression are not sustainable strategies. Nations should instead work towards peaceful resolutions and cooperation to avert the threat of another global conflict.

Independence Day 2024 this June 12 should give us Filipinos a lot to think about, on the heroism of those before us who repudiated tyranny and oppression.