Can they sail on to Pugad and Sabah?

Can they sail  on to Pugad and Sabah?

December 29, 2015 Blog; Tuesday.

                Are those Faeldon’s little boys and girls on the excursion to one of the islands of the Spratley’s or the Kalayaan Islands Group? Marine Capt. Faeldon is the self-styled “patriot” who wanted to sail on his own small dinghy to some of the Kalayaan Islands to confront China’s force present there.

                The Philippine military authorities intelligent and formidable patriots as they are, such as Navy chief Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad has already said that there are no problems with the Chinese forces in the disputed areas, but little Marine Capt. Faeldon wanted to make a point as he tried at Oakwood trying to lead his own little band which was never recognized as much as the genuine reformist Magdalo officers, and then at the Manila Peninsula stand-off and siege in 2007 from whre Faeldon escaped dressed as a woman leaving behind the other Magdalo officers and civilians to face Gloria Arroyo’s wrath.

                As Faeldon failed to get endorsement of his Popeye the Sailor strategy on the China Sea/West Philippine Sea controversy he supposedly recruited 10,000 Filipino youths to sail to the disputed areas and is raising P 1-Billion for transport and other expenses. So a group of young Filipinos did finally sail there recently and took pictures on an unoccupied island.

                Great story! Now, how about sailing on to Pugad Island of the same group of island that Philippine troops occupied in 1968 under instructions of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos but which South Vietnam invaded in 1975 in the stealth of night and while the Philippine  troops went off to a social dance party on another islet.

And below Filipino officers now apparently celebrate the conquest of the invaders with the invaders… hahaha.

Claim versus Occupation and Possession.

Claim: verb1.state or assert that something is the case, typically without providing evidence or proof.

            noun1.an assertion of the truth of something, typically one that is disputed or in doubt.

demand or request for something considered one's due.

                There are many parties claiming this and that, what matters in the end if possession, continuous control and administration. This is why Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos started occupying with Philippine troops numerous islands of the Spratleys as early as his first term of office. Yet the Philippines under the Marcos successors like Cory Aquino, Fidel V. Ramos, etc. allowed these islands already occupied to deteriorateand become derelict.

                The Philippines’ interest in the islands started in 1949 which, to simplify we quote, “…

businessman and maritime entrepreneur Tomas Cloma claimed to have discovered in 1949 but which Wikipedia reports “having been inhabited, at various times in history, by the Chinese and by people from the Champa Kingdom of Vietnam, and during the second world war, French Indochina and Imperial Japanese troops.”

More recent history.

                For convenience we review from Wiki: “Japan occupied the Paracels and the Spratlys from February 1939 to August 1945…^.Parts of the Paracels and Spratlys were occupied by Republic of China after the 1945 surrender of Japan, since the Allied powers assigned the Republic of China to receive Japanese surrenders in that area,…

Filipino Tomas Cloma uprooted an ROC flag on Itu Aba laid claim to the Spratlys and, the Republic of China again regarrisoned Itu Aba on 1956…^. In 1946, the Americans reminded the Philippines at its independence that the Spratlys was not Philippine territory, both to not anger Chiang Kai-shek in China and because the Spratlys were not part of the Philippines per the 1898 treaty Spain signed with America.^”

But on Sabah…

The Philippines media in recent reports states, “The Philippine claim over Sabah is solid.…

Thus said eminent statesman Jovito Salonga 50 years ago, in his speech… to the Anglo-Philippine Talks held in London.The speech, delivered on radio and television on March 30, 1963, … At the time, the Federation of Malaysia was scheduled to be formally created on August 31, 1963 … (so Philipine cliam predates even the existence of Malaysia…)

                …(Salonga) cited the following proofs and arguments that Sabah remained under the dominion and sovereignty of the Sultan of Sulu:In 1881, when the Spanish and Dutch governments protested the award of the Royal Charter to the British North Borneo Company, the British clarified that "sovereignty remains with the Sultan of Sulu" … former American Governor-General F.B. Harrison, then Special Adviser to the Philippine Government on Foreign Affairs, advised…"to denounce the cession order as a unilateral set in violation of legal right." (by the British government)… Sabah thus cannot be part of the Federation of Malaysia as "conceived, inspired, and sponsored" by the British….

So, the Faeldon group should sail on to Sabah!

The rest of us will join you there.  ###