Sovereignty or suzerainty: An epistemological question

How do you deal with a mind that believes it is its destiny to rule? More so, how do you deter that mind from pursuing its alleged destiny by fraud or by force?

 

It scares the dickens out of me to think that what is happening in South and East China Sea is a foreshadow of things to come beyond the control of the current or future occupant of the White House unless it changes course. That is, for the United States government to shift its policy from a shorter view of a careful and sometime indecisive juggler of interests in the region to a longer view of a credible and undisputed strongman in the region.

 

For me, this is the crux of the matter. And why is that? I think it is for the fundamental reason that while Washington is thinking of sovereignty, Beijing is thinking of suzerainty. That is, the United States is thinking of pragmatic and short-term gains as a self-driven sovereign “rebalancing” its own interests as well as its allies’ interests in the region. And China is thinking of historic and long-term goals as an imperial suzerain self-fulfilling the “mandate of heaven.”

 

How do you make sense of such an epistemology warranted or unwarranted? How can you stop such fantastic rendition embedded in the imperial principles that: 1) Heaven grants the emperor the right to rule; 2) Since there is only one Heaven, there can only be one emperor at any given time; 3) The emperor's virtue determines his right to rule, and; 4) No one dynasty has a permanent right to rule?

 

Well, one can’t. The interesting thing about this is that it does not matter whether its core belief is true or not. For example, consider the truth of the construction of The Great Wall. It was built as a territorial perimeter to keep out the Mongols and other marauding tribes from constantly harassing Han China. If that is the case, how then can China claim that the Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other groups are also Chinese or “sons of the yellow emperor” and therefore must be under the dominion of the "middle kingdom?" 

 

It is disingenuous to say the least but that’s how an unbridled and unexamined epistemology operates. After all, truth is not a prerequisite of belief. However, it can be systematically justified as truth. Or as Plato would have it, “belief is commonly invoked as truth-bearer.”

 

Based on what had been done and what is known, it apparently worked. Right? As it is, it is remarkable that the Han Chinese already got away with the invasion and occupation of Tibet and Uyghurstan. And now, it has set its eyes for the eventual expansion of its imperial maritime territory into South and East China Sea. And I think it is convinced that it can get away again with this one.

 

And why not? Well, it has already set up an oil rig smack-dab in Vietnam’s Paracel Island and is engaging in an ongoing reclamation and earth-moving activities in the Philippines’ Scarborough Shoal with little resistance from the affected countries. As far as the United States is concerned, it made its objection known with sound and fury but it’s just that—sound and fury.  

 

My question is: If the United States is powerless to prevent this incremental incursion right now, who will stop China from aggressively pursuing its imperial expansionism to its alleged long-lost tributary territories? Are we in China's imperial mind also "sons of the yellow emperor?" I wonder.    

If there is no drastic change from Washington, I am afraid that we may be fighting a lost cause. Now we have to prepare and rely on our own determination, ingenuity, and effort to face the eventualities of conflict and war. We cannot be forever mendicant or dependent. And as they say ”beggars can’t be choosers.” I am sure that if it ever comes to conflict and war, China will be more than ready because it is simply self-fulfilling its mandate, so to speak.

 

Inasmuch that I detest China’s imperial core belief system that justifies the grabbing of our territory as well as the territories of Vietnam and Japan, still I am latching on to a flicker of hope that something can be done. I am not so sure what it is but I know there is a wish I entertain at the moment.

 

I wish there is a respectful and compassionate way to deal with one another. Perhaps, we can hold off with our unnecessary actions and reactions and engage each other in an internationally-sanctioned dialogue, let’s say, of legal, moral, and intellectual persuasion. And see what happens. For sure, peace is better than war.  

 

But it is just that—a wish. In the meantime if we are to survive the challenges that confront us, there are urgent internal challenges in our country to overcome before we can prop ourselves up and to stand our ground. 

 

First, is the internal challenge of decisively punishing and incarcerating those who stole billions of people’s money without shame or guilt. For me, the scale and magnitude of what these thieves and their conspirators have done to us is already beyond mercy. It has been long overdue that it must now be stopped with the swift “sword of justice,” once and for all. We cannot keep subjecting ourselves with the indignities of pauperizing our country with organized and institutionalized corruption and expect to hold our heads up high or even just to feel better about ourselves.

 

Second, is the internal challenge of electing a national leader who can provide us with a compelling personality as we navigate the nation’s ship in the choppy waters of South and East China Sea. I am aware that majority of our voters are easily attracted to the appearance of compassionate and patronizing candidates who can momentarily comfort them from their squalid condition and dismal existence. But in times like these, this is not the leader the country sorely needs. Our country needs a leader who possesses not only the charisma but also the moral and intellectual fortitude to uncompromisingly fight for us internally as well as externally.    

 

I wish that our country is different from what it is now. But it is not our reality. Despite the bits and pieces of good news we hear from here and there, we are still a people with a broken system and a broken spirit. How do we mend that? That’s the question. On my part, I know that unless our internal challenges are addressed and ameliorated, there is no chance for us to counterweight the bully who throws its weight around. And more so, to be respected and to be treated as equals in the region.

 

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of this website.