I ONCE asked a polymath how unserious the nation is on its serious affairs and he answered matter-of-factly, without much beating around the bush. "Look at this absurdity: we don't have enough good caliber maritime lawyers." At first glance, the answer seemed like the classic non-sequitur. Give his answer the proper context and you will see his point.

The Philippines is a land-short country the size of New Mexico. The other US state with about the same land area is Arizona. But we are big and massive on other precious natural resources even if we are land-short. As an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippine coastline and maritime territory is one of the most impressive in the world, barely diminished by China's maritime aggression and bullying. A land-short nation with bountiful maritime resources.

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