No nukes

(October 5, 2006) EVEN if the Philippines has been able to kick out all American military installations from its shores, the country is still allied with the U.S. and will abide by the latter’s foreign policy.

Like when President Bush launched its “terror war” against Iraq, we initially sent a contingent support group there until we realized that we are not up to the task and subsequently withdrew our troops after  “agreeing” to the ransom that we remove our soldiers when a Filipino worker was kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents.

It was for safety reasons that we evacuated Filipino workers, mostly domestic helpers, from Lebanon meantime, when the country suffered a barrage of bombings from Israel, which also endured rocket attacks from Hezbollah just recently. Although the Filipino families who were relying on dollar remittances from their beloved OFWs must have cringed at the idea, their departure had to occur.

Now, we can only surmise if the OFWs were able to come back and work for their Lebanese employers, some of whom got mad at their abandoning workers at a time when they were reeling from hardship caused by the Jewish incursions, which by the way was supported by the U.S. “Israel has the right to defend itself,” President Bush said that.

Now, comes North Korea. There are probably no Filipino contract workers in the communist Korean peninsula. But with Filipinos being able to enter and work even in the most remotest of places on earth, I won’t be surprised if there is at least one or one thousand Filipinos working there. The Philippines has its own communist party, though it may be remote that there are tie-ups between the CPP and the government of North Korea. But, who knows?

With the threat of Kim Jung-Il to test a nuclear weapon despite warnings from the world community that it might upset peace in the region, the Arroyo government cannot help but urge North Korea to stop this impending threat. We may not have a clout in the region, but a vocal opposition would encourage others to do the same. And with a new prime minister in Japan, who critics say, may be leaning towards a military build-up in response to North Korea’s posturing, it would be best if we all just remain calm and have more rationale leaders talk it on the table.

Not only a war in Korea will make it more difficult for the Philippines, we will again see an exodus of OFWs from South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and since Korean missiles can reach far-away shores (perhaps even the U.S.), Filipinos in the Northern Marianas (Saipan) may also have to depart  the U.S. territory. It was, by the way, in the island of Tinian in the Marianas where the atomic bomb that ended World War II with Japan was assembled.

North Korea’s threat was a wrong move. It could use nuclear energy in providing power to all of the communist state, which is shown as a dark spot when a satellite photo was once taken at night time over the peninsula because the country cannot provide power to the homes of its people. Using it as a weapon will only further isolate it from the rest of peace-loving nations. Though nuclear waste is deadly when mishandled, nuclear energy emits no toxic carbon emissions while other fossil fuels hurt the environment more. Be that as it may, it is not advisable to use atomic energy because of its potential of being used as a weapon of mass destruction, particularly by rouge countries such as North Korea, whose people unfortunately, were once featured as more than willing to fight the Americans, and even defended their leader’s willingness to use nuclear weapons if and when they’re invaded.

The North Korean impasse is the biggest test yet for both China and Russia, which have been aiding their communist ally. They have so far failed in convincing Mr. Jung-Il to go back to the negotiating table. We have seen Pyongyang test its missiles,  albeit unsuccessfully for its long range rocket,  and without a whimper from both countries.

We may never see an actual nuclear attack from Nokor because the superpowers will not allow that to happen. However, we would rather not see another invasion in the region, which would definitely involve the Philippines (no thanks to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the U.S., which allows station of U.S. soldiers in RP) and a military buildup of yet another country in Asia that was once our occupiers.(RFL)

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