It was a “bullied about-face”!
The term “double-minded” comes from the Greek word dipsuchos, meaning “a person with two minds or souls.” Oh no, this is how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations elucidates itself in the wake of its members’ unusual retraction of their bold statement against China’s imperious blustering in the South China Sea. From serious concerns to serious incongruity, the Asean is biblically “like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
Any “association” ceases to exist as an association if it doesn’t serve its collective purpose, and when each participant looks only after its own interest. What a shame! The Asean should stand up as one to China’s aggression and incursions in the troubled waters and act as one principled body for their common good and the world’s, looking beyond their selfish individual welfare, refusing to compromise justice and truth, especially if member-nations within Asean’s fold are being tyrannized by another country.
What are associations for?
Laos and Cambodia are the two closest allies of China in the league who seem to be lethargic to the real problem. They were the countries that reportedly objected to the original communiqué and blocked the confederate stand. As such, they prove to be undeserving members of the association. The Inquirer’s editorial, “Asean fiasco” (Opinion, 6/17/16), concludes, “… the lack of a united Asean means that one viable solution has moved even further beyond reach.”
If you can’t walk on water, don’t sink the boat.
—RENI M. VALENZUELA, renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com