Let’s settle our differences with China peacefully

With everything that has been happening with China over the last year (or few years), relationships between our two countries have been strained to say the least. I’m glad that President Aquino is taking the time now to visit the People’s Republic of China. We all know how awkward it has been between our nations with us being disinvited to a trade expo and our maritime dispute, but hopefully this trip can be the start of real talks between us and of stronger ties as Asian neighbors.

Despite the anger that I, along with many others, may have felt over the back and forth disputes we’ve had with China in the past months, I don’t pretend that having good relations with them is important not only on an international level but an economic one as well. I’m sure we know our economy is boosted by Chinese business and we’ll surely feel the pinch should relations get so tense they decide to pull out and take their money elsewhere. Not to mention all the jobs that will be lost.

That is why I think it is important for us to support the President’s visit to China and hope that it signals better relations in the future. As he said, “the country seeks harmonious relations with our international brothers and sisters so we can focus more on the domestic problems that we have to fix on our own shores.” Truer words could not be spoken. 2014 seems to have been quite the landmark year for problems to crop up that need to be addressed — from the rising crime rate, to the infrastructure and public transportation problems, to political corruption – and we certainly have our hands full just handling our own business without adding international feuds to the list.

The President has already said that he and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping have agreed that the end-all or be-all of our two countries need not rest on just one issue. That is a very good way of looking at the perspective problem. After all, I don’t think we are anywhere closer to solving our maritime disputes, but that should not be the entirety of our relations with our neighbor country. At the end of the day, diplomacy is a better option than aggression.

Personally, I am all for bilateral or one-on-one negotiations with China instead of the whole ASEAN as a group. After all, the problems are between our two nations and getting more and more people involved can only complicate the situation further, especially when some of these other nations also have their own vested interests in the eventual outcome. Let’s not pretend that most countries in the ASEAN group don’t have their own issues or problems to deal with as well, so I certainly see the benefits of leaving everyone to solve their problems on their own and deal with our issues with China one-on-one.

At the end of the day, we have more to gain from good relationships than from tension and the same is true for China. We have to find a way to put certain things behind us for now and focus on what we can address and what we can fix. As the President said, “anything that fosters greater stability is the overall objective because we want more prosperity for our people and our nation” and additionally our international relationships – especially with major economic players like China – are very telling of how our relations with other countries will be as well. We don’t want to lose investors and interested international partners because they feel we are unstable as a nation. It’s time to invest in creating better international relationships, not just for economic gain but also so we can focus our attention on and solve problems that exist right here at home.

After all, in the year ahead the eyes of the world will be on the Philippines in at least two major ways – once when Pope Francis makes his visit here and once again at the APEC Summit. In both instances we have the opportunity to showcase the best side of the Philippines and our people. We want to show that we are ready to be the launching pad of sustainable development in the Asian Pacific region. If we can do that, we can already begin to positively affect the way the people see the country and that can only continue to lead to good things. Let’s not waste that opportunity.

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On the not so bright side of things, I am deeply saddened to see that so little has been done in the rehabilitation of Tacloban and the cities ravaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda. With all the aid sent in from international friends and neighbors plus the hard work of the people in the country to help those in need, it’s truly sad to see so many people still living in makeshift shanties and communities without the basic necessities. I understand that what happened was indeed unprecedented, but in over a year I can’t but feel that much more should have been done to improve the situation.

What I particularly don’t like is that it is turning into a political battleground. This should not be the case. It’s time to set aside differences and political affiliations and work hard to help the people in need. We are endlessly hearing on the news about how those involved are lambasting and blaming one another for failed rehabilitation attempts, but the fact remains that no matter whose fault it is or isn’t – it shouldn’t matter as much as doing something about it.

My heart goes out to those who lost everything when Yolanda hit the country and are struggling just to try to go back to living a normal life. It’s hard enough to try to reconcile the lose of a loved one without additionally finding little to no relief over one year after the tragedy. How about we all stop playing the blame game and focus our efforts on those that need it the most?