Dave Achondo BY now, everyone has heard the news that China refuses to bow down and follow the ruling of the recently concluded arbitration case conducted by the United Nation’s (UN) tribunal court. This despite the fact that until now, they have shown no solid evidence to claim the disputed area as theirs except from an ancient map. I for one am not shocked of China’s move to reject the ruling, and I saw this coming from Day One. They opted not to take part in the hearings and were too busy doing other stuff like blasting Filipino fishermen and activists with water cannons with the use of the Chinese Coast Guard, and building runways and other infrastructure in the disputed islands. They have invested a lot, and it pains them to see that they lost in the legal fight. Is our country meant to be bullied by other countries? Their government seems to think that we Filipinos and this country and all other small countries can be bullied into submission just like that. This is not the 1500s when you can lay claim to a land by simply declaring that it is yours because you “discovered” it. They were given the chance to show evidence and defend their claim the same way as we were given the chance to defend ours. Yet while the case was being heard, they were proudly building infrastructure, destroying the marine ecosystem and so much more, and they did that without second thoughts, unmindful of the ongoing case in a tribunal recognized by the community of nations. I have nothing against China, but I think someone should think about a “Tokhang” campaign on its leaders who seem to think that if he who has the bigger stick can do what he wants. Are China’s leaders really that full of themselves that it’s nothing to them even when other nations are urging them to respect the tribunal’s decision? International laws are there so that all nations, including small countries like ours, can stand on equal grounds in times of disputes. These rules prevent this world from seeing chaos. If a country as big as China believes that “might is right,” then I say they got everything backwards. It should be “right is might.” In today’s world, no matter how a major player your country is, you still need to abide and play by the rules. An armed conflict with China was never in the cards. Everybody knows that. And it will be a waste of resources and lives--any war is. If China doesn’t concede and respect the ruling, and continues with its imaginary claim of the West Philippine Sea, regardless of what this country is capable of, we cannot not sit idle and watch as another nation stubbornly asserts its claim on our soil. The challenge now is how the Duterte administration would deal with this. Do we simply give up in the event China flexes its muscles?