Composite photo of Secretary Locsin on a map of Sabah. Photo: CNN & tropicalg.com olitical pundits have been scratching their heads lately, wondering why Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin is even bringing up the Philippine claim to Sabah at this time? Our country is in the midst of the most severe pandemic in living memory. Infections and deaths from COVID-19 are still surging in the Philippines and other countries across the globe. But more importantly, Southeast Asian countries are finally now coalescing to form a united stand against China and its unlawful to most most of the South China Sea. Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, are all strengthening their naval forces in light of overt aggression by the PLA navy and the Maritime Militia of China. The only entity that should be extremely pleased with what Locsin is doing is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Divide and conquer is one of their core strategies—keep neighboring countries fighting amonst themselves. This is the reason why China always insists only on bilateral negotiations with ASEAN countries rather than negotiate with them as a block. So driving a wedge between Filipinos and Malaysians is a step in the right direction as far as the CCP is concerned. If ASEAN nations are divided, it would be easier for China to control the region. That is their ultimate goal, given that ASEAN countries surround China's southwest border. Filipinos are slowly waking up to the fact that, Chinese covert operations in the Philippines is pervasive. So Locsin himself may not even be aware that he is being used by the CCP. A whispered word here, a seemingly harmless comment there, and before you know it, China has a top-level Philippine official dancing to its tune. It is easy to stoke nationalist sentiments in anyone. Massage his ego, make him appear patriotic, Hake him feel he standing up for his country. He might might consider his actions heroic, but in the end, all he is doing is furthering China's hegemonic goals. As we noted in a previous editorial, Chen Yonglin, a Chinese diplomat who defected in Sydney, Australia in 2005, told authorities that there were more than a thousand Chinese agents were operating in Australia. Keep in mind, this happened in 2005, well before Xi Jin Ping became president. Today's China is way more powerful, and a lot more aggressive than it was in 2005. Also, given our shared Asian features, it is so much easier for Chinese spies to blend-in here than in Australia. So how many Chinese spies are operating in this country today? Some say it could be in the tens of thousands. And given China's current focus on using the internet, social media, artificial intelligence, and high-tech surveillance methods, the CCP could be playing Filipino politicians, celebrities, influencers, and other leaders, like a fiddle, getting them to do their bidding without those Filipinos even aware they're being used. Just look at the comments section of this site, as well as most other news sites online. Reliable sources tell us that the vast majority of those comments emanate from troll farms inside China. Those hackers and trolls obfuscate the truth and further the CCP's nefarious agenda. Published 8/2/2020