Arrogant

“THE ships are gone,” Albert Del Rosario claims the other day; referring to China’s fishing vessels roaming the Scarborough Shoal. The guy is the Foreign Secretary; he should know what happens outside.

“They never left,” Voltaire Gazmin says; this time referring to Chinese fishing vessels roaming the Scarborough Shoal and China’s ships that patrol the area. The guy heads our Defense that includes the Navy that surveys our waters; he should know what happens to our seas.

The former based it on “coordination between the Philippines and China”, the latter on “factual operational report”. While both can claim credibility, sanity compels me to believe the Navy; there’s nothing more credible than seeing what actually exists than someone simply telling you it does.

But we shouldn’t totally blame Del Rosario for giving the wrong inputs; he merely relied on a diplomatic agreement. It’s just that the stuff is unreal both in text and in promise. Diplomatic ethics run contrary to that -- agreements need to be adhered to, otherwise ties will be broken. And China knows that fully well, which makes it alarming.

We did our part of the bargain by withdrawing our canoes, err, ships, rather. We hastily did so to show cooperation and goodwill; that is us, we are a trusting race. But perhaps such is not the case of our counterparts.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon is correct in saying that our government shouldn’t be damn too easy to yield to China’s “persuasive diplomacy”; only fools rush in, sages say.

For how can we trust thy neighbor who claims ownership of lands and seas that are rightfully ours? How can we trust thy neighbor who encroaches on our property for its use and then tell us it’s now theirs for they have been using it? How can we trust thy neighbor who promised to pull out but only said so to fool us out? How can we trust China?

Perhaps they were too foolish to believe that we would buy anything they sell, be it wholesale or retail. But this is no “Ma-ling”; this ain’t “siopao” either. We may be a small nation, we may be gullible at times too, but we know stupidity when we see it. This is about our sovereignty, in no way must others insult, degrade and destroy it. Civilization dictates it. Co-existence calls for it. Humanity is all about it; allowing others to live freely and peacefully.

Once a sleeping giant, China now has indeed shown its capabilities and has transformed itself into a superpower both in terms of economy and military. It has, too, shown enormous influence on the regional and global affairs. But in bullying us, China -- the giant -- has likewise shown its capacity to go beyond reason and abuse all discretion in its quest for supremacy over all nations.

I hate being redundant, but such is conceitedly arrogant.