Beyond Hard and Soft: Three Rules for Dealing with the Philippines

Beyond Hard and Soft:
Three Rules for Dealing with the Philippines
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 16, 2013

Summary: The Ma administration has refused to accept the Philippines' perfunctory response to our ultimatum. It has imposed a freeze on Filipino workers and recalled its representative in the Philippines. When Philippines special envoy Amadeo Perez arrived on Taiwan, the ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs noted Perez's failure to express any position. Premier Chiang then initiated a second wave of eight sanctions. Coupled with today's military exercises, tensions in Taipei-Manila relations continue to escalate.

Full Text below:

The Ma administration has refused to accept the Philippines' perfunctory response to our ultimatum. It has imposed a freeze on Filipino workers and recalled its representative in the Philippines. When Philippines special envoy Amadeo Perez arrived on Taiwan, the ROC Minister of Foreign Affairs noted Perez's failure to express any position. Premier Chiang then initiated a second wave of eight sanctions. Coupled with today's military exercises, tensions in Taipei-Manila relations continue to escalate.

The fact that a single attack on a fishing vessel has triggered such a massive response is regrettable. The main reason is that the Philippine government has long evinced contempt for the people of Taiwan. Its response lacked sincerity. Last night the Philippines Representative to Taiwan Antonio Basilio, consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He repeatedly changed his story. He strung our side along. He prevaricated. From beginning to end, he refused to offer a clear apology. He left the government and the people with the feeling they had been bullied. If the government accepts such a flagrant evasion, normal exchanges between the two countries will be impossible. The public will not tolerate such an affront to its dignity.

The Ma administration imposed two waves of eleven sanctions. The public response suggests that most people support the administration's actions. When the fishing vessel shooting incident occurred, President Ma initially hoped to seek justice through peaceful means. But when peaceful means failed, he was forced to get tough. When the incident first occurred, this newspaper called on the government to make a strong case rooted in logic. We urged everyone to remain calm. We urged everyone not to be stampeded by populist demagoguery, or swayed by personal feelings. The situation has since developed to where it is today. We continue to make the same appeal. We hope the government will remain resolute. We hope that the public will provide it with support. We hope that everyone will work hand in hand. After all, during such a diplomatic, economic, trade, and military campaign, only those who endure will prevail.

The Taipei vs. Manila confrontation is not that unfamiliar. Two years ago, Taipei and Manila clashed over a criminal suspect from Taiwan whom the Philippine authorities extradited to the Mainland. The Philippines President also sent a special envoy to Taipei. He too used the term "regret," instead of offering a genuine apology. Outraged, our side announced a freeze on Filipino workers entering Taiwan. After a month of dithering, the Philippines finally punished its immigration officials for dereliction of duty. Only then did our government lift the freeze on Filipino workers seeking work on Taiwan. As we can see, state-to-state negotiations require both time and wisdom. Neither is dispensable.

Consider the issue at a deeper level. Relations between the two countries have turned out the way they have due to both internal and external political factors. When the shooting incident occurred, the Philippines was holding midterm elections. Naturally it dared not treat the matter lightly. Now that the Aquino government has scored a major election victory however, it is complacent. Asking it to bow and scrape is clearly going to be difficult. The Aquino government has been reckless. It has undermined its own national interests, and hurt the feelings of the public on Taiwan. On the Taiwan side, the anniversary of President Ma's May 20 inauguration is just around the corner. This coincides with a downturn in his approval ratings. He desperately needs to change his image of weakness by adopting a tough diplomatic posture. He desperately needs to win public support. As a result, he has increasingly stepped up the pressure. But this has made diplomacy the handmaiden of domestic politics.

Diplomatic channels may be more opaque. But the language of diplomacy is more elevated. It provide more room for maneuveuring. This often yields better results. If all negotiations require crossing the "t"s and dotting the "i"s, and are open for public inspection, they are certain to provoke public dissatisfaction and dissent. Consider for example, the repatriation dispute two years ago. Then Foreign Minister Timothy Yang said critics should not quibble over whether the Philippines apology was sufficiently sincere. There are many ways of offering apologies. The term "apology" can be used in so many different ways. The Ma administration has set a multitude of conditions for an apology. But if the Philippine expresses regret in a way our people cannot accept, how will it all end?

Fortunately, in this dispute between Taipei and Manila, the ruling and opposition parties, blue and green alike, are on the same page. They are unanimous. This means the government has strong backing. The public is in an uproar. The government must be careful. It must adhere to three principles. First, the government may find itself in a stalemate. But the public's feelings must not be hurt. Secondly, the government must know just how strong a hand it holds. It must avoid injuring itself. Thirdly, the government must remain resolute, but not engage in reckless gambles. It must rise above toughness vs. weakness. It must know when to attack and when to defend. It must know how to handle itself. Only then can it score points in the debate.

President Ma and Premier Chiang took tough actions yesterday. But they merely prove that consultations between our Foreign Minister and Antonio Basilio the night before were futile and misleading. Think about it. We clearly knew the other side was stringing us along. They were constantly changing their story. Yet Lin Yung-le repeatedly tried to put a positive face on the talks. He conveyed an extremely confusing message to the public. The press conference revealed the deviousness of the Philippines side. It also revealed impotence and poor judgment on our side. That Taipei-Manila relations have come to this, reveals deeper and more serious problems within our own foreign ministry.

超越軟硬：對菲交涉的三大原則
【聯合報╱社論】
2013.05.16 04:02 am

馬政府拒絕接受菲國對我國通牒的敷衍回應，並斷然作出凍結菲勞及召回駐菲代表的行動。菲國特使培瑞斯來台後，外交部長以拒見表達立場，江揆隨後啟動第二波八項制裁。加上今天的軍演，台菲關係的緊張將持續升溫。

一件漁船遇襲事件引發如此大規模的制裁行動，誠屬遺憾；而其主要原因，是菲國政府對於台灣人民的感受始終態度輕慢，毫無回應的誠意。尤其，前夜菲國駐台代表白熙禮在外交部的協商，一再變更版本敷衍，支吾其詞，卻始終不願正面道歉，更讓我政府和人民有「被欺」的感覺。若政府接受這種公然狡飾之辭，日後兩國關係如何正常交往？人民又如何尊嚴互待？

馬政府採取的兩波十一項斷然制裁，從社會的反應看，應該取得了國民的廣大支持。漁船槍擊事件發生後，馬總統原擬以和平手段索討公道，但在和平訴求失效後，恐怕也只有強硬以對才能得到公道。事發之初，本報即呼籲政府應該據理力爭，但各界須保持理性，不必流於民粹或意氣用事；事態發展到今天的地步，我們仍作相同的呼籲，希望政府堅定立場，民間作其支柱，共同以赴。畢竟，在這樣的外交、經貿、國防綜合戰役中，唯有氣長的一方，才是最後的贏家。

這樣的台菲對峙場景，其實人們並不陌生。兩年前，台菲在「台嫌遣陸」事件的爭執中，菲國總統也派遣特使來台，亦自始至終僅說「遺憾」不提「道歉」，我方則在忍無可忍之下宣布凍結菲勞進口。經過一個多月的斡旋，最後是在菲國懲處了執行遣返作業的失職移民局官員後，我國才解除凍結菲勞的禁令。可見，國與國交涉需要時間與智慧，缺一不可。

深一層看，兩國關係演變至此，其實也有雙方內部各自的政治因素存在。射擊事件發生時，若非正值期中選舉，菲國當不致如此輕怠此事；而今艾奎諾政府選舉大勝，正是志得意滿，要教他彎腰屈膝，顯有難度。艾奎諾政府因自己的輕率，傷害了國家利益和台灣人民的感情。台灣方面，馬總統五二○就職周年在即，正逢民意低迷之際，亟需藉外交強硬來洗刷軟弱之名，獲取民眾的支持，也因而步步升高了對抗的壓力。但如此一來，也將外交事務捲進了內政因素中。

外交管道的斡旋雖然較不透明，但因為語言對應度較高，可以迂迴的空間較大，往往較易獲致成果。而如果一切交涉預設了各式條條框框，並要公開接受民眾檢驗，勢必滋生困擾和枝節。以兩年前的遣返爭議解決為例，當時的外交部長楊進添說，菲國的動作讓我國感受到具體的誠意和歉意，外界不需在文字上作太多計較，因為歉意有很多表達方式。試想，若「歉意」可用那麼多不同的方式表達，而今馬政府卻對道歉的規格設置了各種條件；如此一來，若未來菲國以其他方式表達歉意而我國民眾卻不苟同的話，屆時將如何收場？

值得慶幸的是，在這次的台菲爭端中，朝野政黨不分藍綠都站在同一陣線，一致對外，這是政府有力的後盾。無論如何，在輿意沸沸揚揚之際，政府仍必須謹慎把握三項原則：第一，政府可以對峙僵持，民間感情不可傷害。第二，須準確掌握出手力道，避免發生回力棒的自傷。第三，須堅持事理，但切勿孤注一擲。超越軟硬，有攻有守，運用自如，才是得分之鑰。

不客氣地說，馬總統和江揆昨天的強硬制裁動作，其實恰恰反證了前一夜外交部長與白熙禮的徹夜協調是徒勞無功，且備極誤導。試想，在明知對方一路敷衍、更換說詞的情況下，林永樂仍站出來和對方一起舉行記者會，不斷為其擦脂抹粉，也向民眾傳遞了極其混亂失當的訊息。這場記者會，暴露的不僅是菲國代表的狡遁，更暴露我外交官員的荏弱與誤判。由此看，台菲關係走到這個地步，其實在外交體系潛藏著另一層源頭。