After raising the plight of Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea in his recent bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. got the assurance that China will find a solution to allow Filipinos to fish in ‘natural fishing grounds’.
Much as we welcome this development, we are not sure if the Chinese president will fulfill his promise, given China’s similar assurances in the past that it did not fulfill. When it comes to maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea, China is known for saying something but doing another thing. In short, they are just good at making promises that they do not honor.
Unfortunately, China’s delayed action is something that Filipinos cannot wait for. It’s the action to finally allow Filipino fishermen to freely fish in the West Philippine Sea. Funny but China is disallowing them to fish in our territorial waters, within the 200-mile distance from our shores which, according to the international law of the sea, is rightfully ours.
Imagine China, imposing a fishing ban in the waters where the Philippines exercises “sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.” What is that? Is it not an act of bullying and intimidation? At any rate, we can only resort to diplomatic efforts, hence the series of protests that the Philippine government has been filing against China.
Now we have become like beggars, at the mercy of the giant bully, begging to be allowed to fish in our waters. Poor Philippines! That lobbied assurance for a solution to finally allow our fishermen to fish is not an achievement at all. It is their right. They should not have been banned from fishing in our territorial waters in the first place.
Sad nature
Nature broadly comprises the physical world or universe. Aside from the physical world, nature also includes the living creatures that inhabit this world. These life forms vary in terms of looks and habitation, such as marine creatures, land animals, air inhabitants, and under-the-earth organisms.
I am a lover of nature, no question about that. I spent my childhood within close range of nature, enjoying it, and loving it. But there are aspects of nature that I also dislike and even detest. It might sound contradictory and inconsistent, but that’s what I am. I like most animals, but there are some that I find scary or loathsome.
One thing that I find offensive about nature is the presence of predators. I dislike the idea that they prey on other animals that simply want to live like them. I know it is part of nature’s cycle, but I find it sad that some helpless animals live in fear and suffer terrible pain and death when captured by predators.
How I love it when animals are just feasting on fruits from fruit-bearing trees, plant leaves, and grasses. For me, these are the ideal foods for them to eat. How I wish all animals were just eating plants or the like. Yes, plants also possess life, but they are too different. They do not have consciousness, do not breathe, don’t have blood, no eyes, and ears, no mouths, no feelings, no sensations, not moving on their own. Truly suitable for eating!
But animals possess the senses that give them consciousness. Generally, they have the sense of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. They feel pain, and they also have emotions. Many of them have blood in their veins that resemble human blood. They have brains, hearts, and other physical faculties that enable them to be even closer to humans. Unlike plants, they are fully aware of what happens around them.
So when a lion, crocodile, tiger, hyena, eagle, leopard, jaguar, or other predators approach a pathetic, helpless antelope, the latter can be terrorized with fear, then with pain as fangs and claws tear its body apart. It may struggle to free itself, but the simultaneous bites and claws penetrating its body are too painful to bear. Amid the pain, anguish, and horror, the prey has no choice but to die in agony.
What have they done to deserve such fate? They cannot fight back, try as they do. And the most agonizing of all is the doom of being eaten alive. The sight of a deer lying on its side while a komodo dragon is pulling its internal organs out is too much for me to see, especially if the pitiful deer is still alive and conscious, howling in terrible pain. I hate such a sight. I feel like picking up a weapon and killing the predator, too.
Yes, I love nature, but not all the way. I hate predators and pity their prey. I love to see when the prey learn to fight back and the predators are harmed. But it seldom happens. Nevertheless, nature is nature and will flow through its natural course.