THERE is another, perhaps more compelling evidence — among the many I've presented in the past three columns — that the Joseph Estrada administration promised the Chinese that it would pull out what its Navy had deliberately grounded on Ayungin Shoal which served as its claim of sovereign rights in that disputed area.
He actually ordered the removal of a second grounded vessel at a more strategic disputed site, Scarborough Shoal.Estrada when he assumed power in June 1998, was compelled to demonstrate his nationalist credentials, having made nationalism one of his advocacies, and especially since nationalist organizations backed his run for the country's highest post. He declared in late 1998: 'If the Chinese are building structures, then we may as well put up our own structures.
This was his little-known legacy, eclipsed by an abbreviated term punctuated by corruption scandals...It was the Navy chief, Flag Officer in Command Eduardo Santos, who suggested to use some of the World War 2-era LSTs to stake the Philippine claim and establish its presence. How? 'We run them aground and leave them in the islands. These are part of our assets, listed in the registry of our active vessels. They belong to the Philippine government's armaments.
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