‘We are greatly interested in US President Biden’s response to this “invasion,” because we ourselves are in danger of being pushed to a war that we don’t like in the South China Sea…’
THE world is so tightly knit that a flashpoint of trouble anywhere in the globe will necessarily affect the lives of people though they live in countries thousands of kilometers away.
The case of hostilities in eastern Ukraine once again proves the truth in the statement above, and before we condemn or apologize for any side of this current war, it is best to look into the welfare of Filipinos in Ukraine, along with civilians there who are the first to bear the brunt of missiles and bombs raining from Russia.
To his credit, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has acted fast by arranging the repatriation of Filipinos thru Poland, inasmuch as air travel from any of the big cities in Ukraine is suspended. Locsin urged some 300 Filipinos there to get in touch with the embassy or the honorary consulate in Kyiv to register their exact location, and to know if they have immediate needs. DFA Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola said they have accounted for 181 Filipinos, and 37 were on their way to Lviv in western Ukraine for repatriation via Poland, the first batch of Filipinos to be rescued since the start of hostilities last Thursday.
Arriola said the Philippines is extending its thanks to Poland “for giving us this humanitarian corridor for allowing our people to cross.” Repatriation from Ukraine is still voluntary, she stressed, and that it would be up to Locsin to raise the DFA’s alert level on Ukraine and order the evacuation of all Filipinos there.
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the country would take a neutral stand initially on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said, “we should not meddle with the affairs in Europe, because we are not beside the borders of Ukraine. While nearby countries have expressed their support, we are going to be neutral for now.”
It is reassuring to many that President Duterte’s “independent foreign policy” will once again be applied in real-life scenario in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, for there is no immediate advantage for the Philippines to be gained from openly siding with one protagonist.
To remain “neutral for now” is correct, and should even be made a permanent Philippine position on the issue, even as we monitor closely how the United States treats its ally, the Ukrainian government, during this emergency. We are greatly interested in US President Biden’s response to this “invasion,” because we ourselves are in danger of being pushed to a war that we don’t like in the South China Sea and cannot precariously wager the nation’s future, including the future of the next generation of Filipinos, on the say-so of our allies.
