It is official: Our policy on the West Philippine Sea is the appeasement of China. This is confirmed by the statement of Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano at the recent meeting of Asean ministers that “…South China Sea claimants will suffer if they are harsh on China.” What acts will be harsh on China will presumably be decided by China, with the endorsement of Cayetano. It is a strange statement and explains why the Philippines has kept quiet on its claim on the West Philippine Sea; in Cayetano’s perspective, it is a harsh initiative that will displease China.
Ever since the modern nation-state was established following the Napoleonic Wars, a country’s national interest has primarily been defined in terms of territorial integrity and its impact on national security. Thus, in contemporary times the worst offense that one country could inflict on another is grabbing its territory through intimidation or war. Such an act of aggression is done through a combination of some high-sounding ideology and perversion of historical facts. Adolf Hitler’s lebensraum, Hideki Tojo’s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and now China’s nine-dash line are clones: All three doctrines have the common goal of seizing territory by intimidation or war.