Citizen Juan

Like most Filipinos, I greeted The Hague victory over China in our maritime dispute over the West Philippine Sea with glee.  And if I only had the legs for it, with high-kicks and pompoms.

See?  We do have rights over that area.  And we do have brains enough to know what those rights were, when we should speak up, and exactly where to bring our claims so we can get redress for the violation of our sovereign rights.  We're not entirely all stupid functionaries who are hoodwinked into signing one-sided international treaties by much smarter and really devious counterparts from the West. If anything, this victory brought layers and layers of reasons for us Filipinos to be proud of our country.

I remember I wrote about this issue a few years ago.  Forgive me for reprinting what I already got paid to write, but after digging into my files, I was able to find that other piece.  It was refreshing to rehash it while basking in the afterglow of victory.  Here's what I said in my 2012 piece entitled Citizen Kan:

I woke up Thursday to discover that I belong to China.  Apparently, some enthusiastic news anchor from China Central Television has proclaimed that the Republic of the Philippines is part of Chinese territory, and "that is an indisputable fact." (Of course, since that was said in Chinese, I am relying on Agence France Presse to deliver an accurate translation.)

There are both good and bad things about belonging to China, I suppose.  One good point is, I would become part of a nation that owns much of US debt.   So nice to finally be from a country that has muscle.  A lot of it.

***

Woe unto me, with only three-eighths Chinese blood.  And non-Chinese speaking, at that. Will I be marginalized and forced to live in a ghetto of non-Chinese speaking citizens? We'll be the backbone of Pinoytown!

But what will happen to Chinatown?  You can't have a Chinatown in the middle of China, that would be an oxymoron.  I guess that oasis of Chinese culture will be swallowed up by the mainstream, and new pockets of 'native' culture will result.  There will reside the dissidents and the prostitutes, as well as the expatriates and the ingrates.  Most probably, all the homosexuals too.

That's where I will be exiled.  Me and the rest of the patriots who opposed Chinese claims of sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal.  Darn it, China, why don't you pick someone your own size?

***

Well, as it turns out, we didn't need China to decide to play in its own sandbox with the other superpowers.  We picked our own venue, chose our own game, selected our generals, and ran with it.

There are a lot of naysayers who now dismiss the victory as empty.  Who point out that there is no mechanism in international law to enforce that ruling telling China it has been a bad, bad boy. Who deride the pride that swelled in the breasts of many Filipinos.

Well, aside from telling them they're party poopers, perhaps it would be good to remind them, or even to teach them, that international law isn't about fire power.  This is exactly what is taught in the first week of any international law course, its before and after nature.  Before, it was war and arms make might and right.  Now, the conduct of nations is dictated by practices, customs, and codes that weave together a very powerful, even though largely invisible, net.

So sit back, spectators.  Let us await the international community bring to bear the beauty and majesty of international law. I guarantee there will be surprises ahead.

(And as for China Central Television, what can you say now, huh? Huh?)