THERE. He said it. “The Chinese government has the right and the ability to recover the islands and reefs illegally occupied by neighboring countries,” according to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin. “But we didn’t do that. We exercised maximum restraint,” he was quick to add.
I wasn’t at the briefing—I had a previous engagement I couldn’t get out of--so I wouldn’t know what kind of facial expression Liu had when he made the declaration. But it must have been of near exasperation.
The gall of some of these countries, he must have thought. Why, two centuries ago they were sending elephants, rice, eunuchs and virgin girls to the imperial capital as tribute.
Still, I didn’t sense any posturing on his part and that’s probably because, deep inside, I know Liu is stating the new face of realpolitik in the region. And yes, it will take some getting used to, Liu, before the likes of Korea, Japan and the countries that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can embrace the reemergence of sinocentrism, but I don’t doubt its inevitability.
You see, it’s not like we, people who inhabit the states that border or are close to the Chinese mainland, have any choice in the matter. Because we don’t. Not really. And that’s because of geography. We can’t just ignore that huge land mass that occupies the southeastern part of the Asian continent with a population of more than a billion to boot.
And that’s why we need to rethink the way we deal with the new/old China.
And no, I’m not suggesting we kowtow to Beijing. But we have to stop thinking of China as the China under “the century of humiliation.” I’m sure China, too, wants to shake off that image of helplessness.
Having been forced to open its coastal ports to European powers and grant one-sided concessions to the latter after a series of military excursions in the 19th century, having to endure the cruelty of the brutal occupation of the Japanese imperial army in the 1930s, having to survive the devastating policies of its peasant-emperor Mao, China must want, once again, to be acknowledged as the most advanced civilization in the world. Hence, the current show of diplomatic magnanimity.
So why am I talking about China?
Well, even though Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Manila for the Apec Summit, both the Chinese and Philippine governments have agreed not to discuss the territorial dispute in the South China Sea despite recent rising tensions.
In light of this, US President Barack Obama vowed to bolster security in the seas around the Philippine archipelago.
“We have a treaty obligation, an iron-clad commitment to the defense of our ally, the Philippines. You can count on the United States,” Obama said while on board BRP Gregorio del Pilar.
In the report of the Associated Press, Obama announced that the US “would transfer two additional US ships to the Philippine Navy—a US Coast Guard cutter and a research vessel.”
Hmmm. Sounds like posturing to me.