Let reason rule
“Sy-Coson voices the practical and sensible concern of traders who look to China as a source of bigger growth.
Daily Tribune“Sy-Coson voices the practical and sensible concern of traders who look to China as a source of bigger growth.
A Filipino Taipan has given the administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. food for thought regarding the friction in the West Philippine Sea and the backlash a face-off with China may bring.
During a Christmas dinner with the media recently, SM Investments Corp. vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson, one of the heirs to the vast SM retail empire, gave a pragmatic reason for exhausting all means to find a peaceful solution to the problems with China.
"China is very close to us; we cannot be too antagonistic," Sy-Coson said.
Lately, China's "gray zone" skirmishes involving water cannons and other offensive devices have been increasing with the poorly equipped Philippine vessels on the receiving end.
The clashes have mostly occurred near Ayungin Shoal, where the BRP Sierra Madre, manned by a platoon of Philippine Marines, has been beached since 1999.
The China Coast Guard has been blocking Philippine vessels supplying the grounded ship and has prevented other boats from sailing in the area where China claims historical ownership.
Analysts warn that the most recent clash, in which the Chinese Coast Guard water cannons disabled a supply boat, was the most serious of four publicized showdowns in the disputed area.
The standoff may reach a point where lives would be lost, potentially dragging the United States, which has a Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines, into the fray.
Sy-Coson is urging restraint at all costs.
She acknowledged the circumstances behind the Philippines' insistence on its maritime rights but stressed the preferable avenue of dialogue.
"Even though we know what is happening, I guess we have to do it through more peaceful negotiations," Sy-Coson said.
The suggestion may as well be made to China.
A promising document, the Code of Conduct, has been stalled for more than two decades due to China's insistence on one-sided provisions favorable to it.
President Marcos has suggested the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, craft its own code, implying that it would take effect even without China.
Without the participation of China, however, the standoff will remain.
Many nations have referenced the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration award denying China's expansive claims, which the Philippines and other claimant nations consider a victory.
Sy-Coson's viewpoint reflects that of the business community, which abhors uncertainty. The retail magnate also frowned on the government's strategy of publicly calling out China after every encounter under what is called "aggressive transparency."
The Philippines, she said, would still need to engage with China, mainly on economic terms.
"What we need to do is hold peaceful discussions with them because, after all, we can't change our neighbors," she said.
"We just hope there will be no skirmishes in that area because whatever happens (there) will affect us, all of us," she added.
SM, the largest retailer in the Philippines with malls and commercial and residential buildings across the nation, among other interests, has malls and other businesses in China.
The Philippines is experiencing strong growth, which local businessmen worry may be affected by a prolonged standoff with China.
Sy-Coson voices the practical and sensible concern of traders who look to China as a source of bigger growth.
Chinese and Philippine officials have agreed that the territorial friction "is not the sum" of their relations and that other aspects of engagement provide the basis for a stronger bond between the two nations.
She offered the correct business perspective that friction can always be threshed out at the negotiating table without the anxieties caused by China's intransigence.