As dark days go, July 24, 2012 is akin historically to what occurred in China on February 18, 1932 when Japan proclaimed the state of Manchukuo as the governing body for the region of Manchuria which it had invaded and detached from China.  The people of China were driven to erase that infamous day from their history just as the Filipino people today are determined to do the same with their own dark day.

This July 24 marks the first anniversary of China’s creation of the “Sansha City” garrison to “oversee and administer” the whole West Philippine Sea and all the islands and terrestrial features within it.  Effective January 1, 2013, Beijing announced last October, its Sansha-based naval fleet would be authorized “to board, seize and expel foreign ships” found within the 3.5 million square kilometers of water that China claims it owns.

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/81103/july-24-a-dark-day-in-philippine-history#ixzz2ZpcrD1iH