Last week, we stood in total awe as a flotilla of small Filipino fishing boats headed toward Scarborough Shoal, a disputed crop of rocks in the West Philippine Sea visible only at low tide, basically to assert the rights of Filipino fisherfolk to fish in that area. As they sailed into the open sea from Masinloc town in Zambales, the slow-moving boats led by the “Atin Ito” civil society coalition were shadowed by more than a dozen Chinese vessels seeking to prevent their entry into the lagoon and the surrounding waters that China claims as its own.

David, R. (2024, May 19). Against China: The face of a new nationalism. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. A8.