EDITORIAL - Don’t tear it down, make it permanent

After preventing our ships from resupplying our marines in an outpost on the BRP Sierra Madre in the Ayungin Shoal, China is now making a ludicrous demand; that we remove the ship from what they claim is their territory.

In justifying their demands, China said the BRP Sierra Madre has finished its mission in the area and must be removed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian went on to say that the Philippines made a previous commitment to do so. What is he talking about? In all likelihood such a commitment is as fictitious and delusional as this so-called nine-dash line they imagine separating their territory from ours.

How did we get here? How did we come to the point where China is now demanding that we make it easier for them to expand into our territory?

In a way, we can say we are now reaping what we sowed. This administration was very indecisive, very hesitant to press for our rights in the area, even to the point of belittling such a hard-won victory; the arbitral ruling at The Hague that ruled the nine-dash line doesn’t have a legal basis.

This hesitancy, this inaction emboldened China to push further and further to point that it is now demanding that we just give up part of our territory to them, and remove something that gets in the way of their expansion --at our own expense.

But let the past be the past. Considering some recent statements, it seems this administration is suddenly growing a spine and making its stand against Chinese intrusions clearer. President Duterte brought up the water cannon incident before the ASEAN, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana rejected China’s ridiculous claim.

Let’s hope that this is the now the official stand of this administration, and not just for show because the elections are approaching.

China doesn’t have the right to make demands in that area. That territory belongs to us. Instead of tearing down the BRP Sierra Madre, it should instead be made more permanent to at least show our presence in the area and our defiance of the Chinese Communist Party’s bullying.