Editorials
Wednesday, May 14, 1997CHINA and the Philippines have exchanged protests over each other's activities in the South China Sea. Such conflicts with its neighbors are likely to continue as Beijing flexes its increasingly powerful military muscles and attempts to dominate the region. In the latest development, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Manila said the raising of a Philippine flag on Scarborough Shoal was "a serious violation" of China's sovereignty and warned that a repetition would strain relations. Beijing's protest shows
growing assertivenessBeijing lodged a protest with Manila last week after local fishermen raised the Philippine flag and removed Chinese markers on the shoal, a spit of land west of Luzon Island, to assert Philippine sovereignty. The embassy spokesman said the Philippines also sent naval ships to the area to "unjustifiably disrupt joint international amateur radio exploration activities on the island organized by a non-governmental organization of China."
The Philippines considers Scarborough Shoal part of its territory, because it lies within Manila's 200-mile exclusive economic zone. President Fidel Ramos said Manila will look into Beijing's protest but asked China to investigate a similar protest filed earlier by the Philippines.
"There is really no need for protest and counterprotest if we only follow the code of conduct that already has been agreed to by both governments," Ramos said. The code of conduct, signed by China and the Philippines in 1995, provides for maintenance of the status quo in the South China Sea pending a peaceful solution of overlapping claims.
China's protest came nine days after Manila protested the presence of armed Chinese ships and a new structure near Philippine-occupied islands in the Spratlys. Scarborough Shoal is not part of the Spratly Islands, a cluster of islets and reefs that is claimed by China, Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei. China and Taiwan are also involved in a dispute with Japan over a small island north of Taiwan.
China dwarfs other East Asian countries and is acquiring the military capability to impose its will on them. Having closed the U.S. naval and air bases on its territory and with its own armed forces among the weakest in the region, the Philippines in particular is in no position to stand up to Beijing.
These incidents reflect growing Chinese assertiveness that could lead in time to an overt challenge to U.S. military dominance of the Western Pacific. That is a big reason why the U.S. bases on Okinawa are so important. Fortunately, the Japanese government appreciates their value and has no intention of demanding their removal.
ORSON Swindle made two strong attempts to unseat Neil Abercrombie as Hawaii's member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the First Congressional District, but fell short. Now the Georgia native and former prisoner of war in Vietnam says he won't take a third shot at the liberal Democrat. Instead he's backing a true local product, state Rep. Quentin Kawananakoa, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty, who is expected to announce his plans this week. Swindle endorsement
THREE individuals and two organizations were honored by the YWCA of Oahu last week for their significant contributions to the advancement of women in the community. The 1997 honorees ranged from a still scrappy 93-year-old ethnobotanist to a largely women-led medical center that brings Hawaii's keiki into the world. YWCA honors women
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
