Agawan Base?: The Baselines Bill

I recently watched over the news about the resurrection of the hotly contested Spratly’s Islands and the squabble among Asian nations like China, Malaysia, Vietnam and including the Philippines. Not to mention, even Taiwan.

In an article also from Philippine Daily Inquirer:

Unfazed by a strong protest from China, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign the baselines bill defining the disputed Spratly Islands and the Scarborough Shoal as a regime of islands within Philippine territory, her spokesman said.

At the same time, Manila is “seriously” considering summoning the Chinese ambassador for a dialogue on the baselines bill, which Beijing claimed have violated its “indisputable sovereignty” over the two areas, a foreign affairs official said.

Honestly,I find the word “indisputable sovereignty” to be a  heavy word. Why cant United Nations settle this matter? Seriously, look into the maps. Ang layo-layo na ng China sa Spratlys eh. I dont know if they are considering proximities in making their territorial maps – but we all know that there are interests in these tiny clump of islands in the South China sea.

Even Taiwan. Look at the distance from Taiwan to the Spratlys – sobrang layo. Ewan kung paano ba nila na-dedetermine ang mga territories nila. These islands are just tiny dots in our damn maps. If based on the proximity, the Philippines has the strongest claim. But if based on other reasons, well, its like a lion looking for its own bigger share in the pride.

United Nations, I think, they should be looking into this matter. Pero feeling ko, the United Nations is deaf and mute in this matter. Is there any governing body that will decide a country’s territory? Probably, the cartographers. Kidding. Even the cartographers or map makers might be frustrated with this issue.

I hope that the Spratlys issue will not turn into a hopeless-Sabah-case. Look at Sabah. It used to be our own. Hanggang sa may elementong gahaman ng pumasok and poof – Sabah is gone.

The Philippines should stand up to its own sovereignty – hindi dapat tinatrato bilang saling pusa na ewan.

Viewed 318 times by 115 viewers

Tags: baseline, baselines bill, philippines, spratlys