The Philippines and China are currently in a standoff for the ability to exploit energy resources from the South China Sea. In the past few months tensions have only increased with no solution in sight. Both countries believe they have a claim over the resources in the sea west of the Philippines and cannot come to negotiable terms. 

 

China and the Philippines have been negotiating and fighting over these resources for a few decades. The Phillipines believe that they have rights to the West Philippines Sea, however China disputes this by claiming almost all of the South China Sea for themselves. This is part of a larger issue regarding China and its treatment of its Southeast Asian neighbors. 

 

In ANTH-187 at Lehigh University, we learned and discussed the history of countries in Southeast Asia and specifically went into detail about their time under different colonial rule. The Philippines in particular was under Spanish rule for 333 years. Majority of the Southeast Asian countries were easily dominated by larger European powers who then exploited them for their own gain. Regarding resources specifically, these European nations would reap great benefits while the rest of the Southeast Asian country and its people were left with little to nothing. 

 

With these perpetual tensions between China and the Philippines we can again see how larger countries sometimes attempt to take more for themselves and leave little for others. However, the Philippines is not the same country it once was under that colonial rule, and instead has grown since its independence. President Ferdinannd Marco Jr. in the article has vowed to defend the Philippines rights. It will be interesting to see how these negotiations develop with the Phillipines in a stronger position to defend themselves than they would have been in the past. 

 

Not only does this debate between China and the Philippines affect these two countries, but it also could set the stage for other Southeast Asian countries and their potential disputes with China. Similar to the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also claim parts of the South China Sea. These claims are also all denied by China, who says that it is their claim instead. Therefore, this could affect how China deals with all these countries as well, and may set the tone for their ability to fight back. Will the Philippines and China be able to come to a solution that both parties can agree on? Or will this lead to even bigger problems for the two countries who are so geographically close to one another?

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3245365/south-china-sea-philippines-wants-start-energy-exploration-projects-waterway-says-marcos-jnr?campaign=3245365&module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article