TERESITA Sy-Coson, the country's richest billionaire and matriarch of SM, the Philippines' biggest conglomerate, last week stunned the little brown American military brass and noisy Coast Guard when she said:

"China is very close to us; we cannot be too antagonistic," Sy-Coson, the SM Investments Corp. vice chairperson, told reporters last Wednesday. "Even though we know what is happening, I guess we have to do it through a more peaceful negotiation," she added.

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