At a secluded spot in China Beach, in central Vietnam's eastern seacoast of Da Nang, the country's third largest city, I found these huge circular bowl-shaped fishing boats one lazy Sunday morning before flying back to Kuala Lumpur.
I was standing there looking at the rush of the waves when a friendly local gentleman in his mid-30's came to chat. He nonchalantly told me how these seas and the nearby islands are being owned by China. As much as I try to avoid discussing "politics" and territorial issues, I could not ignore the issue completely because it is close to home. Like the Philippines, Vietnam is scratching its head uncomfortably because China is muscling its way to "gain" sovereignty to what clearly isn't theirs. I joked that they should change the name of "China Beach" before China starts having their ridiculous ideas that the beach is China's by virtue of its name, the way they spuriously believe that all of South China Sea is theirs (and they even have magical maps and historical anecdotes to prove these). What can small, powerless countries do to avoid these territorial intrusions and fight against bullies? You can't help but wonder.
This is the Eye in the Sky!
