To an extent, Japan’s aggressiveness in its claim of the uninhabited lands in the East China Sea gave China a dose of its own medicine. China even had to invoke UN law in its territorial claim, something they did not consider in our dispute with them over Scarborough island.
While it is the best time to rally our cause, we have to recognize the clear and present danger that we are at the verge of a potentially far-reaching conflict. We therefore have to proceed with great caution because it might just be way above our heads and it might just cost us unnecessary sacrifices of lives and resources.
If there are three things this conflict clearly shows, it would be:
1. Our international political allies such as the UN and Asean are not quite the champions of justice as they claim. In our case, they conveniently cease to be what they are made for in the first place. It would not take an expert to see how near the Scarborough is to our shores and how far it is from China, yet the so called champions of the powerless and the weak seemed to remain silent and took the neutral ground.They are nowhere to be found when we need them the most. Yet when conflicts of richer nations are involved such as those in the Middle East, they are so quick to mobilize our own troops as frontliners.This clearly shows that we are on our own in this fight.
2. We seemed to have a divided take on this issue as a nation. Most of us are even apathetic about it. This could be due to the fact that we don’t know what’s at stake in this conflict. As new generation Filipinos, we have this mentality where if it does not make us rich or if we don’t get anything from it then it’s not worth wasting our time with. If this be true then it’s precisely the best time to reevaluate our position on this matter before it’s too late. If we take a look at how China responded to Japan’s aggression, thousands of Chinese people protested in front of the Japanese embassy in Beijing who even resorted to violence. Some Japanese companies in China had to close for safety reasons. I am not suggesting that we have to be violent, that’s not even the point. I am only implying that perhaps we should have a collective stand on this critical issue and somehow show it. We have to have a unified voice for us to stand a chance. Otherwise let us not awaken a sleeping giant who might bring havoc to our innocent children and women. Remember, we are on our own in this fight.
3. Our president may have the highest trust ratings these days but trust is something I do not have for him in this issue. I’m sure he means well in all his choices and decisions but I’m not sure if he is thinking straight on this matter. First, he intentionally made it clear in his Sona that what is ours is ours, implying that his governance will take any measure to make sure we don’t get robbed of our territory. Such declaration could have easily even be perceived as an invitation to war, and I liked his confidence for that.
At that point, I felt proud I’m a Filipino.Yet when the heat came at the height of the dispute, he could not handle it. He sent a back-channel who he wasn’t even sure if the person shares his agenda.
In any kind of war, a great leader knows how to calculate risks. In fact in the great war stories of history, some battles have to be lost to win the war. I just pray that in this battle we are taking, our president knows what he is putting us through, and it better be greater than the potential lives this dispute is going to cost us. Because it might just be the most expensive price for poor judgment, and that may just truly prove that we are indeed on our own in this fight.
(published in http://www.goldstardailynews.com.ph/opinion/were-on-our-own-in-this-fight.html)
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