In war, legal options vanish

When China decided to ignore the verdict of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, that the West Philippine Sea was indeed part of Philippine territory, it was tantamount to AN ACT OF WAR against the Philippines and all the UN member nations. When China no longer respects the findings of the community, of which it is a member, it elevated the situation from the rule of law to a state of war.

There are no laws in a state of war, which is why China can use lasers and water cannons against Filipino troops, impose food blockades and conduct swarming of their vessels in areas that are not their territories, employ destructive fishing, and their many other crimes.

The “rules of engagement” invented by the US in its war against Afghanistan and Iraq are just words to justify their massacres. There are, in truth, no rules in the conduct of war. The Geneva Conference had some teeth but it slowly evolved into obsolescence when it was violated by many nations at war through the decades.

This pure arrogance of China is part of the ACT OF WAR, a total disregard for the law and for their neighbors. They did it against Vietnam, Tibet, and are now doing it to the Philippines and its ASEAN neighbors through its ridiculous unilateral nine-dash line claim.

If in a state of war the law vanishes, why does the PH keep arguing about the law? Former Supreme Court justices like Antonio Carpio, journalists, and solons keep repeating the obsolete legal option.

Carpio recently announced that he wanted a The Hague No. 2. What for — more PR victories while we lose in the battlefield? I admire the resolute efforts of the legal people, but it is about time we shifted towards the battlefield.

The Dilemma of the War Option

In a state of war, we need drones, missiles, lasers, and water cannons, no longer legal debates, no longer what is right or wrong in the eyes of the law. But the dilemma is — are we ready for it? Whenever we make a move in the WPS, we escalate the war, and at anytime China can escalate ten-fold.

In our desperation, we have turned to the US, but in so doing we enter into a war where we are the rope pulled by two giants. We become part of THEIR war that we are not interested in. We are mere pawns in a proxy war, and as such become collateral damage. In a major US-China confrontation, we are the biggest potential casualty because the war is in our backyard, while the main US and China populations are thousands of kilometers away.

If the legal options have vanished, and we cannot cope in a proxy war, what do we do? Neutrality is impossible in a major US-China conflict. Damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

The Relationship Between Sin and Wars

In truth, our last option is the power of prayer and our strong faith in the Lord. Apologies to non-believers. The Lord can intervene in our behalf if we pray hard. For He said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:1-11)

David beat Goliath by the power of the Lord. The Lord can do the same for us in his mysterious ways. He can somehow pacify belligerent giants at war. He can somehow melt hardened hearts among all of us.

Apologies to non-Marians. Our Lady of Fatima said, “I have come to exhort the faithful to change their life, to avoid grieving our Lord by sin, to pray the rosary. If people mend their ways, the war will soon be over.” (13 October 1917)

There is a direct relationship between sin and war. We can avert a US-China war in the WPS by returning to the Lord.

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