The power of maps
But while maps can be powerful tools, they also present significant controversies and challenges in the context of the South China Sea disputes.
Growing up, we were fascinated by maps and how they could take you to places you had not ever seen before. Maps can show you the countryside, a town, a country, or even the whole world.
As a young Boy Scout, we learned how to find a place or a house just by using our skill in map reading.
People use maps to plan routes from one place to another. They might also use a map to find certain features like hills or rivers or a landmark such as a castle.
You can use different types of maps depending on whether you are walking, driving, or flying somewhere. We remember walking our way through various cities abroad with the help of maps provided by the tourism authorities. That way, we were able to save a lot of precious currency than if we had to hail cabs or take the subways.
With the advent of mobile phones, computers, and Google Maps, things have gone techie. Now, you can use Waze to travel around or hail an Uber or Grab for mobility.
But technology sometimes fails, too as the time, some years ago when driving a car, Waze brought us to a dead-end while looking for an office somewhere in Alabang and there was nowhere to turn or maneuver. The place was an "eskinita" so narrow that you had to drive in reverse a good 50 meters while avoiding obstructions in the dimly lit area. Whew!
Anyway, maps have played a pivotal role in shaping the course of human history by defining borders, asserting territorial claims, and serving as tools of diplomacy — or conflict.
Lately, in the context of the South China Sea disputes, maps have emerged as a powerful means for countries to assert their territorial claims and provide visual evidence to support their positions.
The South China Sea, as we all know, is a region of immense strategic importance, rich in resources, and the subject of overlapping claims by multiple countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
These disputes have created a complex and volatile geopolitical situation, with tensions often escalating due to competing claims over islands, reefs and waters.