EDITORIALDrop the humbug, focus on national and strategic interestBy THE MANILA TIMEShome/Opinion/Editorial/Drop the humbug, focus on national and strategic interestTHE nation will find a resolution of the Recto (Reed) Bank incident faster if it drops much of the posturing and humbug that some of our countrymen are spewing nonstop, and focus its attention instead on national and strategic interest. It is more important for our government to approach this case in the light of national and strategic interest. Strategic interest implies something slightly different. From this perspective, it is a stretch to claim that the Recto Bank incident implicates or endangers the national and strategic interest of the Philippines. Today, it is in the Philippines’ national and strategic interest to nurture and develop good and close relations with both China and the United States, which today are active in their rivalry in the economic and security spheres.

Source: Manila Times June 23, 2019 16:18 UTC