In the past three decades, China’s aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea have continuously escalated, causing great anger among ordinary Filipino citizens.
Aside from the security and sovereignty issues, the ongoing harassment of Filipinos by the China Coast Guard and Chinese militias within our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has reached an unacceptable level. It has become clear that our national pride and self-respect are being severely challenged.
The challenges posed by China and the overall relationship between our countries are the most complex our country has faced in modern times. Our relationship with China is complicated and uncertain, and our national leadership struggles to address these issues effectively. Despite engaging in dialogue with China, their behavior continues to worsen. They occupied Scarborough Shoal after one dialogue, and later proceeded to construct artificial islands within our EEZ.
China’s behavior towards us is condescending and disrespectful. Their responses, such as proposing joint military exercises with the aggressor and victim role reversed, firing water cannons at our vessels after being asked to be kind, and discussing a code of conduct in the South China Sea while still demonstrating misconduct, only reinforce their disregard for our nation.
The diplomatic challenge our President faces in dealing with China is daunting and requires patriotism, courage, and wisdom. It is a David versus Goliath situation, where we are at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, our inarticulate secretary of foreign affairs does not provide much comfort in this respect. Nonetheless, our foreign policy must be based on the assumption that China is not our friend but a predator. When engaging in talks on a code of conduct, we must not give up our 2016 Arbitral Award and ensure that the Code rectifies past violations of international law instead of condoning them.
Now is the time for unity, and we support the call of the Philippine Coast Guard for support and for Filipinos to stand with their country. There are critics who undermine our 2016 arbitral victory and others who serve as lackeys of our powerful neighbor, but we must not let them overshadow our national interests.
Ancheta K. Tan,
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
