Trojan Horse

The suit brought before the International Criminal Court by two former Philippine officials against Chinese president Xi Jinping and several others is quite interesting. Surely, both former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario and former ombudsman Conchita Morales must know nothing will come out of their suit.

Del Rosario and Morales are accusing China of committing crimes against humanity for that country's island-building activities in the South China Sea. Such activities, which include dredging and reclaiming, have damaged or destroyed the marine environment and natural marine habitats in the area.

Consequently, the livelihood of fishermen from a number of countries that depend on the area for their catch has been compromised, hence the filing, ostensibly, of the suit. On the surface, it would appear that the action taken by Del Rosario and Morales is good, even noble and heroic.

But is it really? If both former Philippine officials were aware of the futility of their action, then proceeding with the action cannot be but foolhardy. And in that it may result in consequences that can only be dire to the Philippines, such action may even be ignoble, and those who brought it, if aware of such consequences, reckless, if not malicious.

Everybody knows, Del Rosario and Morales included, that China will never submit to any foreign ruling detrimental to its interests. China did not submit to an Arbitral Court ruling recognizing Philippine sovereign rights in the South China Sea, the heck it will not submit to another ruling against its president.

Even if Del Rosario and Morales manage to secure a favorable ruling on their suit, there is no way the International Criminal Court can impose such ruling on China, either on its own or with the help of others. Pray tell who will the ICC run to for help, the United States? Ha ha.

If the United States truly wanted to rein in China, there would have been no suit before the ICC to speak of. From the first spadeful of sand China turned in its island-building activities in the South China Sea, America, through its numerous eyes in the sky, already knew what China was up to. But it did nothing. It couldn't do anything.

So what do Del Rosario and Morales really hope to achieve? My guess is both former officials, known to be close to former president Noynoy Aquino, simply want to anger Xi and China, to whom President Duterte has pivoted in a major policy shift by the Philippines. The suit is a Trojan Horse. It hides the real aim, which is to scuttle warming Philippine-China relations.