The risk of constant unpreparedness

CHINA has taken advantage of our faulty DNA for so long that we've been outthought, outhustled, outnumbered and outmaneuvered time and time again. That's why it's smug, condescending, provocative, coercive and dismissive. Yet, we hope that China treats us fairly, as a good neighbor should, without lifting a finger to alter our dire straits.

For example, when the US bases were terminated on constitutional grounds, we lost security cover, which radiated throughout the region. China took advantage of the void created by America's departure four short years later, in 1995. When our government was busy stabilizing the economy battered by the impacts and lingering effects of man-made and natural disasters, China grabbed and occupied Mischief Reef, 130 miles away from Palawan and well within our exclusive economic zone, which it has since converted into a Damocles sword over our heads.