This is the title of an article by Euan Graham in the Today paper on the arrival of US combat ship Freedom in Singapore. The article was on Monday’s Today. The title is catchy but the meaning is something that keeps everyone guessing and some with the naive delusion that we are going to get our freedom. Is Freedom arriving in Singapore or is it bondage, or is Singapore going to lose its freedom and be caught in many warfares that it does not intend to be involved?
The 4 combat ships are going to give the Americans a bigger bite and in tempering with the affairs of Southeast Asian countries for sure. Without the presence of military assets, they could talk and any action would take time to happen. Now it is like hanging the guns on the tight of the cowboys who are ever ready for a gun draw or a street fight. The Freedom combat ship will make it so much easy for the Americans to shoot first and talk later.
Southeast Asia, other than Vietnam, has enjoyed a period of relative peace after the WW2, thanks to the absence of American bases here. Vietnam was embroiled in 30 years of warfare against the Americans and only regained peace and independence after driving away the occupying forces. Now the Americans are back and claiming that they are here for peace when we already have had peace all these years after Vietnam. The truth is that the region is now seeing more tension with the American’s presence and their military pivot and increasing their military assets in the region.
Peace and Freedom are the last things that the Americans will bring to Southeast Asia. The aggressive and provocative stance of the Vietnamese and the Filipinos are clear evidences of who is behind their emboldened and belligerent conduct, trying to pick a fight with China.
Just wait and see when and which part of Southeast Asia will go up in flames. The arrival of the littoral combat ships is the first sign of the return of neo colonialism in the region.
Chua Chin Leng AKA RedBean
*Article first appeared on http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com.sg/2013/05/freedom-arrives-what-next-for-littoral.html?