Ang Bayan Editorial: US War Of Disinformation Pushes The Philippines To War

Ang Bayan

June 21, 2024

It is crystal clear that US imperialism is no friend of the Filipino people. This was undoubtedly proven by how the US military’s exposed clandestine campaign targeted Filipinos during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The evil intent of the US was to poison the minds of Filipinos with disinformation about the Sinovac vaccine from China, to question its safety or efficacy, in order to favor US-made vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna. The US disinformation campaign seriously endangered Philippine public health, and is believed to have been a factor in the slow progress in the country’s immunization efforts.

The said disinformation campaign was led and funded by the US Pentagon or Department of Defense. It started under the former Trump administration, and continued in the early months of the current Biden administration. The US invested heavily in deploying soldiers and other personnel to create and operate hundreds of fake social media accounts to influence Filipinos with the slogan “China is the virus”.

This disinformation campaign was carried out by the US military in accordance with the “active combat” doctrine, that guides the US in its competition and conflict with its imperialist rivals, China and Russia. The US uses its military forces in “active combat” despite the absence of direct armed conflict. This is done in conjunction with economic pressure (such as sanctions or investment and trade restrictions), as well as the active use of military force to counter the growing power and influence of its rivals.

Such a disinformation campaign or information war is still being waged today by US imperialism in the Philippines. It targets the minds of Filipinos to portray the US as their “friend, partner and ally”, and China as their “enemy”. Together with its puppets in the Marcos government, as well as some senators and congressmen, US-funded “think tanks” and influenced people in the bourgeois media, the minds of the Filipinos are being shaped to make them accept the presence and dominance of American troops in and around the country.

They promote the perverted notion that the US is a “big brother” that will “defend” the “helpless” Filipinos, which contradicts the fact that US imperialism has twice waged war against the Philippines to take away the freedom won by Filipinos in their revolutionary struggles, first against Spanish colonialism, and second, against the Japanese occupation. It is now being claimed that, under the Mutual Defense Treaty, the US will “help” the Philippines against China, when in reality, the US will not act without prioritizing its own interests. The US is using its military agreements with the Philippines to use the country as a large military base to launch war provocations against China.

The US and the Marcos regime are now fanning Sino-phobia, promoting hysteria, suspicion, fear or anger against China and all Chinese in the Philippines. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, they spread speculations about Chinese spies, infiltration and secret groups of Chinese soldiers in the Philippines. Marcos himself leads the pack, repeatedly insinuating that China is a major “external threat” to the Philippines over maritime disputes. While stories of “China’s invasion plans” are being woven, US military forces reign supreme and openly use the country’s land, air and seas for war exercises and preparations.

In collusion with the US, the AFP and the Philippine Coast Guard have repeatedly brought in construction materials to its “supply mission” on the Ayungin Shoal, which they know will irate China as this violates its previous agreements with the Philippines. The US and the Marcos regime are deliberately obstructing the path of dialogue or negotiation, which should be the way to peacefully resolve maritime disputes. Following the relentless provocations of the US-Marcos regime, China has become aggressive and hostile in dealing with the Philippines, and in its refusal to recognize the rights of the Philippines as affirmed by the international tribunal in 2016.

The US imperialism is relentless, persistent and pours unlimited resources to dominate all fields of the information war, to make Filipinos think like slaves and traitors. The voice of US imperialism can be heard daily speaking through various forms and personas on social media, in the news, from the very mouths of Marcos and his government officials.

The devious aim of US imperialism is to extinguish all flames of patriotism in the hearts of Filipinos and make the people feel like happy prisoners under its neo-colonial rule in the Philippines. They want the people to accept how Philippine sovereignty is being trampled upon, and how the country is now being used by the US to provoke an armed conflict with China. They want Filipinos to close their eyes to the obvious fact that the country is now an instrument of US geopolitical strategy, aimed at imposing hegemony in various parts of the world and subjugating any opposing country or force.

The Filipino people must be vigilant, expose and reject the disinformation war being waged by the US and Marcos regime to control or influence their thinking, psychology and emotions. There is no other more effective way other than to conduct a study movement to learn from history, not from the bourgeois or US point-of-view, but from the perspective of the masses in resistance, to awaken and heighten the people’s patriotic spirit, as they march along the path of struggle for genuine national freedom.

Source : https://philippinerevolution.nu/2024/06/21/us-war-of-disinformation-pushes-the-philippines-to-war/