When powers clash, we, ordinary people, suffer

There is an African proverb that says, when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. That is what we see today with the United States and China clashing over trade practices and freedom of navigation in disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea. And the particular blades of grass in peril may be APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) and the Philippine interests attached to it.

The clash was on display at the recent APEC leaders’ summit hosted by Papua New Guinea. US President Donald Trump was absent, but his vice president was there to convey America’s discontent with China over trade. Even before that summit, tension has been rising in the region as US warships repeatedly challenged China’s presence, with its own ships shadowing American vessels passing through the disputed areas.