Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
IT is a portrait of sheer contrast to witness allies like the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, the European Union and even India join President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in condemning China in its latest attack on Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea, even as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) remain silent. The same contrast is evident in the condemnation from Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, while Vice President Sara Duterte is quiet, at least up to the time this piece was written.
Expecting condemnation from Asean would be a tall order, and the absence of any outrage, whether collectively or individually of the association's member states, is actually not surprising. It is part of the DNA of this regional body that subsists on the principle of noninterference, where our problem is ours to deal with. It also does not do us any good to expect countries that are either beholden to China's largesse, or have relative vulnerability toward China, to speak up and become critical of Beijing's actions in the West Philippine Sea.
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