“Imposing one’s will thru the barrel of a gun is not the way to earn respect”
THE recent signing of the Reciprocal Access Agreement between us and Japan prompted the Chinese government to tell us that we should look back at our history and learn from it.
China was obviously referring to the fact that during the Second World War, Japan was our enemy that brutally occupied our country for almost four years and China was then our ally.
But change being one of the few things sure in life aside from death and taxes, there is now a big change.
Japan is now a different country from what it was during WW2. It is now a bastion of democracy together with Germany and both are now among the most respected and loved countries in the world.
That’s right folks, the two villains of WW2 are now respected in the international community of nations.
And how about the WW2 victors?
According to some surveys, Russia is the most hated followed by China as number two.
Even the United States, although still liked and respected, has gone down in stature.
Times have indeed changed quite a bit.
Japan has become a shining example of a democratic country while China has become authoritarian wanting to own almost the whole of the South China Sea including a slice of our territory.
It has also now become a habit of China to brand all countries in the region as trouble makers every time these countries try to assert their rights and ownerships of their territories encroached by China thru its nine-dash line proclamation.
Perhaps, it should be China that should look at itself in the mirror to see what it has now become.
A bully to its small neighbors who are armed only with their teeth.
It is astounding that it continues to impose its will and refuse to settle differences peacefully and submit itself to independent international arbitration if it wants respect worthy of its exulted position among the family of nations.
Imposing one’s will thru the barrel of a gun is not the way to earn respect.
China should know that the world community can see thru its use of its military might to intimidate the smaller and militarily powerless neighbors and will never buy China’s assertions no matter what it does.
As one of its academics wrote, China needs to find a more convincing evidence to prove its territorial claims over the WPS aside from its standard historical declarations dating back hundreds of years ago which were completely rejected by The Hague Arbitral ruling of 2016.
In other words, China must submit itself to the rule of law if it wants to be an effective leader.
As to whether we did the right thing in signing the RAA agreement with Japan, most of our local defense analysts seem to favor it and so do I.
The agreement will afford the country to be able to access more of its defense requirements from Japan. The benefits derived from arms procurement alone will be substantial like naval resources such as submarines.
China naturally does not like this and the harassments it is doing to our naval resources in the WPS is part of its pressure tactics to force us to accept its position.
China does not seem to realize that no self-respecting nation like us will simply succumb to their bullying.
Furthermore, China is completely misreading us.
China is also wrong to think we are completely under the thumb of the United States because we have interests, independent of the US.
Unfortunately, it continues to refuse to modify its position.
It wants us and other nations to simply bow to their will even if it knows that its claim of almost the entirety of the SCS has not basis in international law.
Otherwise, the US or Mexico can also claim the Gulf of Mexico or the United Kingdom, the English Channel etc.
Maybe being an ascending world power, it wants to establish its own world order.
But to be a world leader in a multipolar world is complicated.
Leadership by good example is preferable but China probably prefers taking to heart the phrase coined by its founder Mao Zedong about leading out of the barrel of a gun.
