A clear and present danger to our country
BK3 strongly opposes the government’s approval of the illogical and dangerous decision of the government to allow a company owed by the State of China to install telecommunications equipment in the military camps of the Armed forces of the Philippines.
Given China’s continuous activity in the West Philippine Sea, we have all the reason in the world to be suspicious of China’s interest in the Philippines. It would be especially concerning for Filipino consumers if Chinese state-owned corporation controlled our telecommunications.
As consumers, accessing online telecommunications services have become indispensable in our everyday lives. Prioritizing our digital infrastructure to meet the exponential rise in demand for cloud services is critical for economic recovery and works well with the new reality of social distancing. The facts are clear, alarming, and concerns every Filipino citizen.
To wit:
1. China’s continues to bolster its expansionist aggression in the South China Sea.
2. China continues to refuse recognition of the International Arbitral Court decision that effectively nullifies its bogus “nine-dash” claim of the South China Sea.
3. China’s incursions into Philippine territorial waters and militarization of artificial islands violates our sovereignty and is causing serious damage to the marine resources, a critical food resource of the region.
4. China’s military continues to harass our fisherfolk whose sole source of livelihood are the marine resources of the West Philippine Sea. Several life-threatening incidents have been documented and remain unpunished.
5. DITO Telecommunity, the third telco controlled by Dennis Uy, a close ally of the President, is a consortium of Udenna corporation and, its technical partner, the China Telecommunications Corporation, is a parent company of state-owned China Telecom.
6. The People’s Republic of China can enforce a law to any Chinese citizen or corporation to cooperate with the State Intelligence Services of China to give any information demanded by the Chinese intelligence agencies.
These issues confirm a clear and present danger to our country’s national security and our telecommunications infrastructure.
What will happen to our country if the CCP invokes the intelligence law and requires this company to share the data it has gathered?
What will be the economic damage of a sudden disruption in our telecommunications services?
As expressed by former Senior Associate Justice Carpio of the Supreme Court and based on his statements in the recently concluded webinar of the Philippine Bar Association, we are in essence letting China set-up its telecom equipment while they are claiming our maritime zone. Further, he warned us to be more cautious in our struggle to preserve Philippine territory and its maritime zone.
We therefore call on our government and legislators to stop this policy blunder.
We call on all Filipinos to become aware and express your indignation against this policy blunder that can result in disastrous consequences to our whole country.