Rallies In Manila Over The South China Sea Dispute (Photo : Getty Images)
The U.N. Permanent Court of Arbitration’s (PCA) decision on the South China Sea islands dispute further deeply divided China and the Philippines as it has escalated to calls for boycott of imports. China started with Taobao vendors boycotting the sale of Cebu dried mangoes and other Philippine food in the online platform.
Filipinos countered and also called for the boycott of made-in-China products many of which are known for being low-quality and some even dangerous to health. While the U.S., Japan and a lot of countries sided with the Philippines and called on China to respect the tribunal’s decision, Beijing found two unexpected allies.
Taiwan, which has been pushing for independence from the mainland, and recently at odds with China over Taiwanese involved in crimes in other countries, sent a naval frigate to patrol the area on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the deployment of the vessel aimed to defend its national interest.
In response, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin approved of Taiwan’s efforts to defend rights it shared with the territory it considers only a Chinese province. He said, “The arbitration has damaged the rights of all Chinese, and it’s the common interest and responsibility of both sides to protect the maritime rights of the South China Sea.”
Meanwhile, several Hong Kong celebrities with business ties in mainland China also spoke against the tribunal’s decision. They include Wong Cho-lam, Hins Cheung, Leanne Li Yanan, Donnie Yan Ji-dan, William Chan Wai-ting and Yang Ying “Angelababy,” reported Hong Kong Free Press. They did it by posting an image with the message: “China can not lose even one bit of itself.”
From the mainland, about 20,000 Chinese has so far signed an open letter to voice their protest against the U.N. PCA verdict favoring the Philippines by stating the islands are within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, while dashing China’s nine-dash line defense.
It turns out that the anger of many Chinese over the decision stems from having been taught in school the four extremities of the country’s territory, reported Quartz. Official high school textbooks identify that point in the south as the shoal 1,100 miles from the mainland and 50 miles from Malaysia’s coast.
Geography textbooks carried those information since the 1940s and China never taught its students that over the years, there were counter claims from other Asian nations.
