WHAT is it to belong to the global commons? Some Filipinos have remained neutral on the issue of territorial and maritime disputes with China. Most of the Filipinos thought that things will pan out to the interests of both parties since we have a shared history what with the Philippines being a haven to Chinese families who left the mainland for various reasons. But the recent discoveries, although we know those were not built overnight, on the much advanced state of reclaimed facilities in disputed reefs, atolls and shoals speak ill of China.

China committed a serious crime against humanity by destroying the ecology around those reclaimed areas. In its persistence to prove its nine dash line concept, it disturbed the ecology, destroyed the habitat of what is termed as the global commons and compromised the future generations’ sustainable development.

In the hope of explaining things and lessen the anxieties caused by China’s unilateral action, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news briefing that the “reclamation and building work in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea was needed partly because of the risk of typhoons in an area with a lot of shipping that is far from land.”

Read more: http://www.manilatimes.net/china-global-commons/179021/