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Joshua Adrian B. Crisostomo

2FPH

Reaction Paper: Issue on the Spratly’s Islands (West Philippine Sea)

As far as I can recall, the issue regarding the West Philippine Sea or more commonly
known as “Spratlys” has been existing ever since. Different countries in the South-East Asian
region has been claiming the rights or ownership of the said group of islands. Some say that this
is due to its perfect strategic location for purposes such as warfare and economics. It is also
suggested or claimed to have large deposits of oil underwater, which is a valuable commodity in
our times today. Many reasons could arise as to why countries are fighting for this tiny piece of
marine area.

A lot of argument has been brought up but only a couple could be considered valid in a
number of reasons. First, I would like to tackle on China’s side of the coin. They say that it is
theirs for it is part of the South China Sea and has been claimed by them many centuries ago as
stated in their history books. If it were to be based on history, it could be an argument, such as
our argument in reclaiming Sabah from Malaysia. A professor of mine also said that China is
only saying these statements as a front, meaning to say it is not their real intention, but rather
their bullying of the other countries claiming rights to this area, one of them being the
Philippines, is only an act to make their presence known not only to Asian countries but also to
the Western powers. It could be valid, for China’s growth economically has increased
exponentially, and now do they announce that they are a country that shouldn’t be ignored.
But setting that aside, the mere claim of it due to history and being part of the South China Sea
could be justifiable. However, because of laws that govern territories that has been created to
solve problems such as this one, the West Philippine Sea and the Spratly Islands are clearly
inside the Philippine territory. It means to say that this area is in fact and evidently is in the
possession of the Philippines, and we are the ones that have the right to it. It is also under our
constitution, therefore being bound by the laws of the country, it Is an area of the Filipino
people.

None of the parties would obviously give in to the claim of the other, this being the
reason why this case has already reached the United Nations. Despite this move, China did not
recognize the claim of the Philippines and continued to do excavations on the marine area. The
Philippines has tried diplomacy and failed. In my opinion, the government should somehow
assert our claim and be firm in it, for I believe that this is the only way for China to begin
listening to our plea, to our claim. I do not say that we should go to war against China, but we
should not back down from them just because they are stronger than us in respect to warfare,
firepower. It is only my desire that they hear us and begin respecting our claims, that they start
to talk to us in a diplomatic way and resolve this issue the way that it should be done. Only
then, in my opinion, will the process of restoring order in those areas begin and a resolution be
made.