By Herman Tiu Laurel

 

            China’s socialist ideological wellspring has infused our Human Civilization with the new and emerging reality of the multipolar world and the vision of a “Community of Shared Future for Mankind” a “new framework” for international relations where all nations are interconnected and interdependent in “win-win” relationships and where the “common interest” surmount narrow, conflicting “national interest.”

            On April 23, 2019 the concept of a Maritime Community with a Shared Future (MCSF), a global governance initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping extends the broader vision of a “Community with a Shared Future for Mankind” to the world’s oceans, emphasizing that the sea should be a place of peace, prosperity, and ecological health rather than an arena for conflict. Hence, all sea and oceanic disputes should be resolved through peaceful dialogue and cooperation.

            The Western Powers since the 1500s with such privateers, or pirates, as Sir Walter Raleigh think of the seas as pathways to plunder and conquests. At the turn of the 20^th Century it was US Navy officer and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan who said, “Who rules the sea rules the world” now a foundational geopolitical maxim that maritime supremacy translates to global power, the phrase means control of sea lanes secures trade, wealth, and strategic military dominance.

            Today we see the U.S. trying to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, dragging the world economy down with its own debt and economic crisis, and secretly contemplating expanding this across the globe to the Strait of Malacca – slipping out of the tongue of U.S. General Dan Caine in a strategy discussion with President Trump and leaked to media. China had ruled the seas in the 1400s to trade and make friends with Zheng He’s historic voyages, its time the world’s oceans once again become bridges of friendship and common weal.

            The danger of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea becoming the next extension of the U.S. “Forever Wars” as a theory is now becoming a real possibility. Singapore, that tiny island states, ever sensitive to the shifting tides of geopolitics so critical to its survival, is now sounding the alarm. The SCMP reports:

“The geopolitical fallout from the Strait of Hormuz chokehold in the Middle East is just a “dry run”, with the Pacific being where the real action will occur if superpowers were to clash, Singapore’s top diplomat has warned.

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan also revealed on Wednesday that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia shared an interest in keeping the Strait of Malacca open, even under the spectre of tolls being imposed on the strategic Southeast Asian waterway.”

Yet, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is flirting and playing with fire with the U.S. war alliance over the efforts of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to reset the course of the Philippines towards neutrality and independence.

            On April 1, 2026 eleven retired Filipino diplomats who have spent at least over five decades of their lives serving in various countries and international institutions, mastering the world’s politics and geopolitical nuances, came out of retirement to issue a “White Paper” calling on the country to “Balance China diplomacy, deterrence,” engage “ Beijing in pragmatic diplomacy, instead of relying too heavily on the United States” and push the Oil and Gas Joint Exploration and Exploitation with China in the SCS.

            Let me read the most relevant parts, “Lessons for the Philippines:

The white paper concludes that both nations deter Chinese aggression not by acting as surrogates for the United States, but by independently funding robust, asymmetric military forces while keeping diplomatic and economic channels with Beijing open.

‘The Philippines is a nation of followers and there is the danger we will unwittingly play the role of a US surrogate,’ the authors warn… the Philippines must pursue a modus vivendi with Beijing. ‘An attitude that looks at the WPS issue as a zero‑sum game will not produce a result beneficial to Philippine interests,’ the paper emphasizes.

To break the deadlock, they propose resuming talks over Reed Bank’s oil and gas reserves through a joint venture where a Filipino company owns 60 percent of voting shares, while the Chinese firm holds 40 percent plus an additional 20 percent in non‑voting preferred stock. ‘Out‑of‑the‑box and difficult solutions are proposed and they will require careful consideration and a change of mindset in both our leaders and people,’ the paper underscores.

The release of the white paper comes just days after Manila and Beijing resumed bilateral consultations in Quanzhou, Fujian Province on March 27–28. The meetings, described by the DFA as “candid and productive” and by China as ‘frank and constructive,’ revived oil and gas talks nearly four years after they collapsed in 2022.

Ultimately, the retired diplomats caution that Philippine survival depends on adopting a truly independent foreign policy and a gradual shift toward non‑alignment.”

Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Jaime Flor Cruz has also endeavored to push the reset, while the DFA is actively engaging the Chinese side in the latest Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) meeting. Again, the SCMP reports, “The Philippines is trying to gradually establish ‘stable foundations’ for its relations with China before tackling tougher problems such as the long-running South China Sea dispute, according to the country’s ambassador to Beijing.

We need a new equilibrium in our relations with China. Both sides [have agreed] to take incremental or baby steps towards that…”

China’s position on the South China Sea issue is clear and unambiguous, “China upholds the principle of ‘shelving differences and pursuing joint development,’ strives to manage differences through rules and mechanisms, oppose interference by external forces, and build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation.” The retired Filipino ambassadors’ recommendations are in consonance. Only the AFP wants tension and continuing, deepening poverty  for the nation.  The BCM and the Oil and Gas Joint Venture talks is the epitome of the Maritime Community of Shared Future at work, and if they both succeed, we can expect the assured stability of the region, early recovery of the Asian and Philippine economy, and finally the first barrel of oil  of the Philippines in 2029.

   

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