The announcement by China that its forces would seize foreign vessels in the disputed West Philippine Sea has brought the territorial issue to a crisis. This latest move by China is an act of aggression. It fits the mold.
DIPLOMACY IS a key tool for survival in a hostile world for a third-rate power like our country. It fails in this mission if our diplomacy is in disarray, as recent events have shown. Our problem may be summed up thus: • There are rules essential in diplomacy that, unfortunately, we do not have [...]
When the Panatag Shoal became the subject of a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China, the Philippine government decided to send to China Sonia Brady, a retired ambassador, on the grounds that she had previously served there and had established valuable contacts. It was a risky choice because of her age, and it failed. Moreover, it may have been based on a faulty assumption. In her previous assignments in China, Ambassador Brady may not have established any contacts at all with the officials who decide foreign policy.
