Vice Admiral Albert Carlos, the relieved commander of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, made several revelations during a Senate hearing that indicated a sophisticated Chinese campaign to sow confusion.
In an apparent strike at the intense transparency effort of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea confrontations, China launched an operation to weaken the military.
Two principles stood out in the Beijing strategy that is derived from the Art of War by philosopher and military strategist Sun Tzu which are the axioms, “win all without fighting” and “strike where the enemy is weakest.”
The most indicting instance during the conversation as related by Carlos was that the Chinese military attaché sought an agreement with Carlos over the conduct of activities around his responsibilities, all the while secretly recording the conversation.
Carlos told the Senate hearing he received a call from a Chinese diplomat that lasted about five minutes where a procedure was suggested, a protocol that would involve fewer vessels in resupply missions to the troops stationed on the beached BRP Sierra Madre at the disputed Ayungin Shoal, and to notify Beijing about missions in advance.
In his testimony, Carlos said he was expecting the Chinese official to greet him in the New Year but the subject of the discussion surprised him.
When the “new model” claim broke along with China’s demand for the Philippines to fulfil it, Carlos got another surprise in that the phone call had been recorded.
“I condemn the act of the Chinese embassy to record the conversation without my consent, much more to divulge it to the public with a malicious twist and manipulation to appear that our discussion supported the corrosive narrative of the People’s Republic of China,” Carlos said in the public inquiry.
Thus, if Carlos’ narrative is true, the Chinese embassy tried to pull off a dragnet for the Wescom chief so that he could be used as an excuse for the escalation of conflict in the maritime friction as the ploy to implicate a former President in a concocted deal to remove the Sierra Madre failed to make headway.
“I am not authorized to enter into agreements,” was Carlos’ plain reply to the allegation he sealed the new model deal with China. “That should have been obvious to the Chinese officials, as it is obvious to everyone else,” he added.
While Carlos did not anticipate the clandestine move by the Chinese embassy, he had the military instinct to know that something was afoot. How else to explain the abbreviated call since the Chinese official was trying to extract an agreement?
The effort to manipulate the conversation was in character for the Chinese who earlier embroiled the whole nation in the apparent lie of an agreement to remove the BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal, which serves as the country’s outpost in the contested maritime area.
Sun Tzu’s teachings have been influential in the realm of politics, particularly in diplomacy and international relations.
The Art of War emphasizes understanding the motivations and strategies of the opponent, as well as the importance of flexibility and adaptation.
The bottom line is to dominate without resorting to a destructive confrontation in which nobody wins.
While still nobody is winning in the low intensity warfare that some experts term as gray zone tactics, the advantage is that there have been no casualties.
Carlos was wise enough to evade the Chinese trap but he still was made the sacrificial lamb since the Chinese had already succeeded in one of its objectives, which is to stoke doubt in a government that has a reputation for backstabbing among officials at the highest levels.
Unity, not mere sloganeering but a real display of purpose, is needed to repel those with malicious intent.