Opinion | No good reason for US to spread anti-vax rumours in the Philippines – South China Morning Post

Americas reputation has been bruised in many parts of the world due to its actions, from destabilising uncooperative governments, overruling the mandate of newly elected foreign leaders and, in extreme cases, invading other countries.

The actions of Russia and China, for instance, help to show that while Americas reach and means may be unique among so-called global powers, its inability to mind its own business is sadly typical.

According to the June 14 Reuters report, the secretive initiative, launched in the waning days of the Trump administration, intended to erode confidence among the Philippine public towards vaccines not just Chinese-made Sinovac jabs but vaccines in general. COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, dont trust China! one such tweet read in Tagalog.

01:30

WHO approves Sinovac Biotechs coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

WHO approves Sinovac Biotechs coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

They may also argue that the efficacy of Chinese-made vaccines was less than worthy of confidence, and that China is in no position to decry others use of disinformation campaigns.

Furthermore, there are real concerns about how useful the Sinovac jab was, with Singapores National Centre for Infectious Diseases, for instance, saying its efficacy trailed far behind that of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

But the issues related to Chinese-made vaccines and efforts to misinform the public in the Philippines are among the reasons the alleged US covert campaign was a mistake.

15:04

Why is the Philippines aligning itself with the US after years of close China ties under Duterte

Why is the Philippines aligning itself with the US after years of close China ties under Duterte

Also, the US could have placed its trust in the ingenuity of its scientists to produce a better vaccine than Chinas the Singaporean centres report evaluated the Sinovac vaccines efficacy against severe disease at just 60 per cent, compared to Modernas 97 per cent and Pfizers 90 per cent.

A realist argument for efforts to undermine China and its vaccines in the Philippines therefore fails due to a lack of, well, realism, as Beijings actions and methods would have accomplished that on its own.

02:26

Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing diplomats over South China Sea wiretapping controversy

Philippines seeks expulsion of Beijing diplomats over South China Sea wiretapping controversy

Furthermore, whatever one thinks of the Sinovac jab, it is simply unconscionable for a US administration to undermine public confidence in a partner country towards vaccination. Even a 60-per-cent-effective vaccine would have constituted an improvement in 2020 and 2021, when Covid-19 infections were claiming thousands of lives daily. In the Philippines alone, more than 60,000 would die of the disease before the worst had passed.

Unfortunately, its alleged covert campaign might also have contributed to a vaccine hesitancy in Philippines that is higher than its neighbours. The bad press will probably outlive Trump, while attempts to paint it as a Trump-era policy will probably count for little, given the overarching continuity in US policy towards China, with tariffs, prohibitions on tech cooperation and expansions of security partnerships designed to rein in Chinas ambitions.

Those of us who still support a US-led world order should encourage better from our leaders, including a possible second Trump administration. US-led efforts to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific depend on Washingtons ability to build partnerships in the region a willingness to put lives in other countries at risk is poison for such partnerships.

Rob York is programme director for regional affairs at the Pacific Forum

Original post:

Opinion | No good reason for US to spread anti-vax rumours in the Philippines - South China Morning Post