Losing Or Winning?

Kids fight over toys. Dogs pee to mark their territory. Adults talk to settle succession issues. What do leaders do to assert ownership over unsettled and undefined features of their countries? What are our leaders doing to win or lose the controversial Kalayaan Group of Islands?

As regular citizens, we can only do as much. We are just in the sidelines waiting for this issue to be resolved, following the news and giving half-baked comments, throwing racial jokes at Chinese nationals we encounter. We feel helpless because this issue is left on the hands of our leaders. We have but hope that they will be able to win this battle.

I used to work for the Bureau of Immigration at the airport. When I was new, I got exposed to Chinese passengers’ passports a lot. And I discovered that passports of Chinese citizens are not stamped upon arrival or when they are about to leave. Instead, they have to bring a photocopy of their passports’ biopage then Immigration Officers will affix their stamps. I found out the reason for this and was in fact surprised. I am also betting that others do not know the reason for this. If you flip to a certain page of their passports, you will see a map. And that particular map includes the very group of islands that we are claiming to be ours. That is how I came to understood why. The Department of Foreign Affairs instructed the Department of Justice to let the Chinese exercise a bit by being bothered to have their biopages photocopied. If they lose the copy, then they will be held at the airport a bit longer because their travel records will have to be checked. It may be a simple gesture but if I were in their shoes, I would not like it. This made me think that though a small step, the government is trying to show China that we will not bullied into giving up these islands.

This issue dates back to 1956. And since then, we have showed other countries that we own these islands. But clearly acquisitive prescription does not apply here. No matter how long we have occupied these islands and the water around them, how many troops we have deployed to guard the boarders, it is clearly not working. China, apart from other Asian countries is our biggest contender in claiming the group of islands situated at the West Philippine Sea. It being a progressive country, chooses to ignore International Laws as they run against its interests. It is understandable that countries will battle it out just to get what they think belong to them. But this issue has been sitting on the table of leaders for so long. Though recently, we won the first round of the arbitration settlement in Hague. Looks like we have a great chance of winning because of China’s arrogance. Personally this is a good sign that our leaders are hand in hand in claiming what is really ours. And we have a fighting chance because we choose to go by the laws while China continues to ignore them.

I can say that though this may still take awhile, we are already a step ahead of China. But like I also said, we can only wait and see if we are winning or losing this battle.