ARTICLE

Fishermen, soldiers, residents and foreigners, all of them have story to tell about Scarborough Shoal. What makes this small ring of reefs a piece of last slice of cake? Philippines claims this as its territory because of its location. It lies about 230 kilometers from the Philippines while China has a distance of 650 kilometers from its nearest island. It is abundant in marine life, so many fishermen from three claiming countries benefit on it. The island is perfect for a security outpost because it has served as place for Philippine military activities and command post for defense since then. Later on Chinese found out that this is also the best place for their defense as shown in their new built outpost with jetfighters and missiles.

These three main reasons on claiming the island ruined the friendship of Philippines and China. When the dispute was brought to international tribunal and the decision was ignored by China, this behaviour started many other harassments and advancements of Chinese over Filipinos. Thus, the claim for this piece of island will surely run generation to generation.