There is no Huangyan Island in the Philippines. Literally, none.
The island and its name is perhaps, a Chinese invention.
But we have oil. In fact, rich deposit of oil where Chinese vessels or fleets flocked at Panatag shoal (international named as Scarborough shoal) to explore (without their application and permits) under the guise of fishing. National experts bared that our “west Philippine Sea has vast deposits of oil and natural gas estimated at 16.6 trillion cubic feet that could last a century, based on the research done by the Department of Energy (DFA, 2012). These information was bared to group of Filipino-Chinese investors last May 8 in a conference aimed at forging ties “for new economic opportunities.”
I honestly wondered if the same information is shared to other foreign investors who could be interested for economic cooperation and joint production within the island. Some legal procedure should be observed if this government is indeed hell bent for cooperative production and utilization of oil and natural gas deposits. This country cannot agree of an aggressive political semantic demonstrative of greed as such strategy is bereft of business ethics.
But why should China resort to such aggressiveness and aggression?
Fisher (2008) disclosed that China, with 1.3-1.5 billion population, has an estimated oil consumption of about 8-10 million barrels of oil everyday for their 100 millions of automobiles and fleet of trucks, factories and for heating homes. Fisher (2008) comparatively bared that if “Japan consumes 14 barrels of oil a year per capita, Europe consumes 17 and America consumes 25, China could consume 18 billion barrels annually.”
Since they have escalating need for oil, Chinese government should reduce their over dependency to automobiles and start advocating an eco-friendly lifestyle. For sometime, ASEAN neighbors have looked at them as model for sustainable living but their advancement have observably or inadvertently neglected to balance their capacity as steward of their own resources. Employing aggression and intrusion to other sovereign states to quench their needs do not only violate international norms, laws and protocols but also mirror the inability of their leaders to refine national growth within the framework of genuine sustainable development. Just as the country is prominent of yoga and reflection to balance yin and yang, I’d rather suggest that China, as an advanced/modernized nation, should review their economic system, recreate balance to optimize their resources, and reduce oil consumption. Such way, they might be able to gain political correctness, too.
References:
DFA (2012). DFA, Filipino-Chinese Business Group Agree to Forge Ties and Explore New Economic Opportunities, Mla, Philippines.
Fisher, R. W. (2008). A Perspective of China, Remarks to a Working Dinner Sponsored by the Progress and Freedom Foundation, Federal Reserve Ban k of Dallas, Texas, US.
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