I received a text from Philippines, Inc. colleague, Noel Onate. His message was “Philippines must answer China, “We do not accept claim of sovereignty over South China Sea islands”. He said we have to stand up for our rights even lip service only.
The Chinese are more equipped to defend what they think properly belongs to them. Philippines could only resort to diplomatic representations and written protests. If China continuously ignores international mediation to settle this sea dispute, we cannot do anything. We can only keep on appealing to the Chinese government to respect international demarcation lines.
If the Chinese believe it’s theirs, and Philippines believe it’s ours, paano na? Maybe we should go back to history. What’s the basis of the Chinese claims, and what’s the basis of our claims. This is a real problem but I believe both governments could still strike a compromise.
