That piece of land called Spratlys

As I wrote here and in my other blog redbluethoughts.today.com, Arroyo has indeed committed a grave travesty of justice when she entered into an agreement for joint exploration of the Spratlys with China. Everybody knows that China is suffering from a power crunch. The demands for power increases as one's economy expands and grows. That's why demands for crude on a global scale has reached 100 dollars a barrel because of China and other economies.

JDV defended this agreement, saying that it was a "political solution" to prevent a further escalation of hostilities in the region. If, as JDV says, that agreement is indeed a political solution, why was it not crafted in accordance with the ASEAN solution? It should have been submitted for consultation with other claimant nations, given the sensitivities of the issue. But, no. The Philippines, being a weak state, was forced into a situation where it can't really extricate itself from a very dangerous situation.

Also, the agreement called for exploration of a place within Philippine territory where claimant nations cannot lay claim on. That place, which is near the Malampaya oil exploration site, is not, I say, not within the purview of claims. So, indeed, that agreement infringed on the territorial integrity of the Philippines and should be closely scrutinized by the Senate and other bodies.

Effects of such investigation

The Senate, under the Constitution, has the power to review executive agreements such as these. However, the Senate should tread so lightly as to not affect the sensitivities of other nations.

In the case of China, the Senate should not be cowed by light threats from Arroyo that it could affect relations with the emerging giant. China needs us more than we need them. We have a huge market, one of the biggest in the region. If Chinese traders lose this market, they would lose billions and billions of dollars worth of investment. So, we have an ace in our sleeves. Likewise, our strategic location affords them an easy access to the US mainland.

In these two reasons alone, that is enough for us to gain concessions from China, instead of China, asking for concessions from us. Why is this administration so subservient to China?

Because of pressure coming from business groups close to this administration. They have businesses in the mainland which could be affected by these inquiries.

Solution

Groups should sacrifice Arroyo. All these things are being forced into the open because of the graft and corruption of her administration. It would be very expedient to all these groups to cut Arroyo's head now before all these other agreements are revealed for all the world to see.

They must act now before its too late.

These things convince me further that Arroyo's numbers are up.