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Opinion by: Samuel Calungsod
The Seeker
Territorial Waters Dispute The Philippines is an independent country with a republic that has control over its territory. However, its sovereign rights on its territory are being disregarded since the West Philippine Sea, one of the country’s territorial waters is being claimed by one of its neighboring countries, China. The bullish force of China to have absolute control over the waters of the Philippines, particularly the West Philippine Sea, is powered by their desire for marine biodiversity and the natural gas underneath. Different sectors of the government of the Philippines are trying to protect the country’s territory through the use of legal matters, including international laws. However, the country’s current leader remains inconsistent on his stand whether or not the Philippines concedes on its ownership of the said territory and keeps on pushing the “friendly” terms with China. The conflict between the two nations started in 2016 when the Philippines is still under former President Noynoy Aquino III’s administration. China caught the attention of the Philippines after they conducted land reclamations in Spratly’s islands and Scarborough shoal without any consent when parts of it are within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. This pushed the Philippines to seek an immediate response regarding the case of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Fast forward to the Duterte administration, Chiara Zambrano, a news reporter together with her team, was blocked and chase by two Type22 (Houbei Class) Fast Attack Crafts, known as a missile-armed vessel. The team tried to venture into the Ayungin shoal to see where the Filipino fisherfolks moved their livelihood since there have been some reports that a large number of Chinese vessels were spotted in the former fishing grounds and also due to the construction of artificial islands. This act of intimidation occurred although they are still in the 90 nautical miles far from the mainland Palawan and within the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. The continuous land reclamation and exploration of China had led them to be indebted to the Philippines with a total of 800
billion pesos as compensation for the huge amount of destruction they dealt with the natural resources of the Philippines since 2013. Despite the clear disregard of China to the law and rights of the Philippines, current President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his administration still think of China as “friends”. In fact, as proof of their friendship and alliance, China had provided aid and assistance to the Philippines in both financial and hospital material needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. They donated testing kits, surgical masks, N95 masks, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), face shields, ventilators, and COVID-19 Vaccines. In hindsight, this seems to be a benevolent act from them although one can’t also help but think if they have hidden agenda since it became one of the factors that prevent the government of the Philippines from taking action regarding the dispute between China and the Philippines. This “friendship” between the two countries is being used by the Duterte administration as a reason not to push China away from Philippine territories. This administration is trapping the Filipinos with the mindset that they owe China for helping the country, making them submit and also fearful since China might declare war if provoked. The belief of China that Spratly’s islands, Scarborough shoal, Julian Felipe reef, Ayungin shoal, etc., originally belongs to them is based on the 9-dash line. The 9-dash line is a demarcation line that encloses the maximum extent of historical claims to the South China Sea, which includes some parts of the EEZ of different countries, including the Philippines. This gives China the right to build anything they want and
Toxicity of Social Medias cont.
losing a lot of clues and cues when communicating," says psychologist Meredith Fuller. Asking for emotional consent before trauma dumping is important because of the reason people are completely isolated, and emotionally stressed and jumping into the conversation and express something that is not compared to what they are going through. Social media websites and apps have become popular hangouts for scammers. Scammers are common when it comes to shopping. During the pandemic, online shopping has gotten very popular and shopping apps have become more efficient. Scamming got easier to do to the cause of shopping online without seeing the item being sold in real life. Giveaways, ads, and offers are usually the common plans of a scamming artist. Reports about scams that started on social media have been increasing for years due to false ads and schemes. Some scammers use their ability to publish fake offers to ‘help' people during the pandemic.
The Marikina Chronicles July 9, 2021
dispatch maritime vessels in the “South China Sea”. Despite the 9-dash line presented by China; the Philippines still managed to win the Hague’s 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This concluded that China's historicrights claim over the maritime areas inside the nine-dash line has no lawful effect if it exceeds what is entitled to under the UNCLOS. The tribunal also concluded that China had violated the Philippines' sovereign rights and caused extreme harm to the natural resources, particularly the coral reefs, and confirms the Philippines sovereign rights on its EEZ of 200 nautical miles from the shore. This further confirms that the Philippines can protect itself from the threat of other countries' malicious motives. The Philippines is a country rich in natural resources, may it be in terms of marine biodiversity or unexplored natural gas, which makes it vulnerable to other countries’ interests. To protect its sovereignty and independence from conquerors, the nation should start making use of its power, especially over the arbitral victory over China. The Filipino people must demand its government to protect its territories and people from tyrants by being firm in its laws amidst all intimidation and tricks. The Philippines deserves a government that stands tall against its conquerors and stands with its people. The Philippine government shouldn’t have a sit on the table that is occupied by someone who deceives its abused citizens by sick jokes and failed promises for a vote. Hate speeches are usually a very ordinary situation on the internet or social media. People can get bullied online because of a small mistake, saying our own opinions, and our own beliefs. Online hate has a huge impact on people’s emotional and mental health. Anxiety can be involved when it comes to being hated virtually. The harm did that is caused by cyberbullying is not seen by those who agree with the person who is doing them harm. The youth of the LGBTQ+ community is twice as likely to be harassed online. Women are also likely hated on the internet just for being their own gender. Dark Humor’ is also a form of bullying due to the reason of making fun of someone who ended their existence, and about people who have diseases and illnesses that they cannot control. To sum up, everything that has been stated above, social media is a very dangerous place to be online. Parents should look after their children when it comes to making conversations on the internet. Kids who are still minors should be careful because they're a lot of groomers and bashers who can harm their youth.
