The South China Sea Dispute: Philippines v. China (Reaction) Neil Andrew L.

Yanson LLB1 L03

The prospect of war, while not impossible, should not be one of the immediate
courses of action that our government should be thinking of. True, we are a dwarf when
compared to the military might of the PRC but there are still other prudent means to
enforce the judgment. The case of Nicaragua v. United States decided by the
International Court of Justice is an assurance for us to continue fighting for the
enforcement of the judgment despite the David and Goliath battle that we find ourselves
in. A superpower like the PRC may exhaust all of its political (and extra-legal) power in
the international community to bully the weaker states bordering the South China Sea,
but in the end, it should be and it is the law that should remain supreme. As David was
in the right, he slew the giant Goliath despite the apparent mismatch in their strength.
Like Nicaragua, our government should be a persistent objector to every act which the
PRC undertakes and threatens our rights over the disputed territory. The judgment may
not be enforced in our lifetime but as long as we persistently assert our lawful rights to
these territories by constant objections to the PRC’s unlawful advancements, we cannot
be robbed of the possibility of an eventual enforcement.

The United States, our long-standing ally, has already expressed protest over the
PRC’s acts on the South China Sea. Other states like France, the United Kingdom, and
Australia, have also followed suit. Of course, one would think that these states do not act
merely out of pure generosity. They too would want to protect their own interests in the
disputed South China Sea. This is the harsh reality but this is understandable and
ultimately beneficial to us because as long as there are other superpowers patrolling the
South China Sea, the PRC’s monopoly of power would be kept in check until the day
when we can finally stand and fight for our own rights.

Let us then not be silent when we are in the right and instead exhaust all lawful
means including seeking the aid of other states in the community of nations to protect our
own interests. To do otherwise would ultimately lead us to the time when our own silence
shall betray not just us but our posterity who shall look upon us as a generation of cowards
miserably lacking in political will and the zeal for the law.

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