American actions, such as destabilizing uncooperative governments, ignoring the orders of newly elected foreign leaders, and in extreme cases invading other countries, have tarnished America’s reputation in many parts of the world.
The actions of Russia and China, for example, serve to demonstrate that while American influence and means may be unique among the so-called world powers, its inability to think only of itself is sadly typical.
According to a June 14 Reuters report, the covert effort, which began in the waning days of the Trump administration, was intended to undermine Filipino confidence not only in the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine but in vaccines in general. “COVID came from China, the vaccine came from China. Don’t trust China!” one tweet read, written in Tagalog.
01:30
WHO approves Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use
WHO approves Sinovac Biotech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use
They may also argue that the efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines is not trustworthy and that China is in no position to criticise other countries for using disinformation campaigns.
Moreover, there are serious concerns about how effective the Sinovac vaccine has been, with Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases saying its efficacy is far inferior to that of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, for example.
However, issues with the Chinese vaccine and attempts to misinform the Filipino people are among the reasons why the US covert operation is said to have been a mistake.
15:04
Why is the Philippines cooperating with the United States after building long-standing close ties with China under the Duterte administration?
Why is the Philippines cooperating with the United States after building long-standing close ties with China under the Duterte administration?
The U.S. could have also trusted the ingenuity of its scientists to develop a better vaccine than China’s: A Singapore center’s report rated Sinovac’s vaccine as just 60% effective against severe disease, compared with Moderna’s 97% and Pfizer’s 90%.
Thus, the realist argument against efforts to undermine China and its vaccines in the Philippines fails for lack of realism, since Beijing’s actions and methods would have achieved that on its own.
02:26
Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing diplomats over South China Sea wiretapping scandal
Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing diplomats over South China Sea wiretapping scandal
Moreover, whatever one thinks about the Sinovac vaccine, it is simply unacceptable for the U.S. administration to undermine public confidence in vaccination in its partner countries. In 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 was claiming thousands of lives every day, even a 60 percent effective vaccine would have represented an improvement. In the Philippines alone, more than 60,000 people will die from the disease before the worst is over.
Unfortunately, this covert operation may also be contributing to higher vaccine hesitancy in the Philippines than in neighboring countries. This notoriety will likely outlast the Trump administration, but attempts to portray this as a Trump-era policy likely make little sense given the overall consistency of U.S. policy toward China, including tariffs, bans on technology cooperation, and an expansion of security partnerships to curb Chinese ambitions.
Those of us who still support a U.S.-led world order should urge our leaders, including a potential second Trump administration, to do better. U.S.-led efforts to maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific depend on Washington’s ability to build partnerships in the region. Attitudes that put the lives of others at risk are detrimental to such partnerships.
Rob York is Program Director, Regional Affairs at Pacific Forum.
