Manay Gina confident of improved PH-China ties

At the recent World Economic Forum on East Asia held here, Admiral Samuel Locklear, the commander of the US Pacific Fleet, warned against a “winner-take-all attitude” on the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea.

Many believed that Locklear aimed his warning at China that has been aggressively pursuing its claims in the disputed islets, atolls, shoals and reefs in the area. However, this should also apply to other claimants to the disputed area, including the Philippines. Our government has been saying that “what is ours is ours.” In other words, we should never allow other claimants to trespass into our territory. National pride and our sovereignty demand it. The sovereignty issue could be resolved only if other claimant-countries agree that we own what we believe is ours. But, as Locklear had stressed, this tack would never solve the row in the West Philippine Sea. He proposed dialogues and compromises to ease the tension in the area.