Wenceslao: Lessons from Ukraine

Some candidates and their supporters are using war to sow fear in the hearts of voters who are against China’s designs in the West Philippine Sea. They are obviously peddling the lie that by voting for a pro-China candidate, we will be spared the fate that befell Ukraine, which is currently being invaded by Russia. We currently have a pro-China president. Has that deterred China from flexing its muscle in our territory?China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are bullies. They use force to intimidate weaker countries. But bullies can be stopped by bigger bullies. That is why when forced to make a choice between China and the US or Russia and the West for allies, I would choose the US and the West. I have been anti-US imperialism for most of my life, but China is now the bigger threat to us than the US.So don’t vote for any candidate who professes love for China. We have seen the damage to our territorial integrity that a pro-China Rodrigo Duterte brought to us. Now China wants Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to win. My answer is, no way! Never again should we have a pro-China president.As I said before, patriotism is one of the issues in the coming presidential elections. I would vote for a patriot considering what is happening to us now. In Ukraine, its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has shown how a patriot leads. Russia’s invasion has been stymied by Ukraine’s military and people, who refused to back away in the face of Russia’s military might. Even former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who is the mayor of Kyiv, which is being besieged by Russian forces, has expressed his willingness to fight. He has been joined by his brother Wlad, also a former world boxing champion.Instead of voting for a pro-China president, we should choose one with the kind of patriotism Zelenskyy exhibited. And while we may be weak militarily like Ukraine is, we have the support of other peace and democracy-loving peoples of the world. Meaning that we should elect a president who is friendly with our traditional allies like the US.Let us not be deceived by pro-China propaganda. And we should not believe in the lies currently being peddled by pro-China candidates and their supporters. China will not invade us because we have the Mutual Defense Treaty with the US. China knows that if it does that, the US will be given a reason to defend its hold on the Pacific region.The Ukraine experience has told us that patriotism is important. The citizens of that country may be outgunned, but patriotism has upped their determination to defend their territory. Putin thought that Ukraine would be easy picking, but the country’s patriots, with the help of a united front of democratic forces, are stalling Russia’s advance.For almost six years now, we have been led by a president whose defeatist stance has emboldened Xi Jinping to make an attempt to grab our territory. Let us not vote again for a president with a defeatist stance.