EDITORIAL – We never learn our lessons

The Philippines has taken delivery of two military jets from South Korea, part of a 12-plane package it has ordered from that country. It has yet to take possession of the entire complement but already it has started making a lot of noise about its envisioned military capability from the air. Left unchecked, this hubris is bound to get it into trouble again.

A few years ago, the Philippines acquired a donation from the United States in the form of a retired US Coast Guard cutter. Naming it the BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the Philippines was promptly seized by an inordinate feeling of braggadocio, touting a littoral patrol craft as a full-fledged warship and sending it on a first mission that will send it neck-deep into trouble with China.

The Philippines has been arresting illegal fishers and poachers from China for decades without running into trouble with that country. Why? Because there was nothing ambiguous about the law enforcement nature of the arrests - they were always carried out using civilian-oriented forces such as the Coast Guard or the Maritime Police.

But when the Philippines sent the Gregorio del Pilar to interdict Chinese poachers, there was no mistaking the military nature of the mission, especially since the Philippines itself has been advertising the ship to the whole world as a warship. In response, China sent its own ships - not warships but large Coast Guard vessels - to the rescue. And the BRP Gregorio del Pilar scooted off in shame.

But China did not stop there. It probably had been waiting for such an incident as a pretext to set into motion what it had been longing to do for a long time, restrained only by the lack of any justification. And this was to take physical possession of disputed islands in the South China Sea as part of its claim over the entire area for its food, mineral and energy needs, not to mention military intents.

And it was the Philippines who inadvertently gave China the justification it long awaited, and the opportunity it presented.

And yet, even as it acquired the justification it needed, it continued to act in a manner that was the exact opposite of what the Philippines did -- it refused to advertise its intentions, it did not telegraph its punches. It just did what it wanted to do without breathing a word to anyone.

The next time the Philippines looked, it already lost a few of its disputed isles to China. Worse, there was nothing it can do about it, its "warship" the Gregorio del Pilar notwithstanding. And now the Philippines is again seized with unrestrained bluster over its taking delivery of two Korean-made jets and expected delivery of 10 more. It is making noises again about air capability, obviously in the direction of China.