Why indeed

I really hope that the just concluded World Economic Forum held in the country for the first time has opened the eyes of many of our neighbors, especially those in ASEAN, to the perils of a China wanting to own everything. We have officially signed into a new maritime agreement with Indonesia, with no less than President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono coming to the country to sign the documents covering said agreement. We have fixed our relations with Taiwan regarding shared parts of the sea. We have strengthened ties with Vietnam, who just like the Philippines, have current issues with China regarding claimed territories. Vietnam is also following the Philippines in elevating the issue of maritime disputes to the UN, a move very, very welcome. The US is planning a new security alliance with many nations in the region, in light of China's belligerence in claiming all of the sea. Nothing confrontational, mind you, merely security alliances.

For sure, all these will infuriate China even more, with fiery rhetoric coming out of Beijing. Still, all these new agreements, new security alliances must come into fruition, for China to see that everyone means business. Business in a peaceful, non-confrontational way. China must be made to cease all oceanographic exploratory actions, stop all construction efforts, stop all forms of poaching and stop resorting to harassment, even outright bullying of other nations.

The seas were meant to be shared, in a sustainable way. Something China has refused to adhere to. It cannot continue to believe in a take-all policy that clearly will not be accepted by many nations. It cannot be allowed to take away anything and everything from the sea, just for profit or because it believes in its healing, even aphrodisiac qualities.

Nobody is ganging up on China, the way Beijing perceives all recent actions to be. Honestly, I don't even think anyone could do that, save for the few superpowers left in the world. Countries are merely trying to make China understand that it cannot unilaterally lay claim to more than 90% of the West Philippine Sea, along with some waters up North. I don't think China wants to be painted into a corner, but at the same time it cannot claim the entire lot. If many countries in the region can come into mutually beneficial agreements, why can't China? Prompting President Aquino to ask the first question as he wakes up everyday, “Why, why, why China?”

Why indeed.