And the unkindest cut of all lies in the very title of the music video: “Nag-iisang Dagat,” or one ocean. Unity has always been the dominant theme during times of global calamities which inspired music videos such as “We Are the World” that inspired global efforts to address hunger and child malnutrition, to our very own “We Heal As One” that sought to unify us in our fight against the coronavirus pandemic. But, in this case, the use of a single ocean or of unified seas is in bad taste considering the geopolitical realities in the West Philippine Sea. China has encroached not only on our exclusive economic zone (EEZ), over which we have sovereign rights, but even into our sovereign territory. It keeps on harassing our fishermen, effectively preventing them from fishing on seas to which we have rights to exclusive use. It wants to unilaterally annex a large portion of our EEZ as part of its sovereign territory.

Contreras, A. (2020, April 30). Offensive music video made in China. The Manila Times, pp. A4, A5.