A hostage crisis in Manila nearly 4
years ago is still sparking hostility between Hong Kong and the Philippines
today. In
August 2010, a crazed ex-police officer in Manila took control of a tour
bus and killed 8 Hong Kong tourists in an effort to get back his job – the hostage
crisis and standoff was televised and lasted almost 11 hours. It sparked an international incident because Hong
Kong officials disagreed with the manner in which Philippine officials handled
the crisis and issued sanctions against the Philippines, “particularly,
the requirement of visas for Philippine official and diplomatic passport
holders which is usually given to government officials on official travel to
Hong Kong.” The sanctions were
issued in October 2013 and reaffirmed this year when Hong Kong demanded an
official apology from the Philippine Government and people. The Philippines
issued a response to the demand for an apology, stating that, “We responded to
this appeal without equivocation and in a most generous manner. Additional
tokens of solidarity have therefore been pledged by Filipino people at the
behest of the Philippine government.” The Philippine government has issued
statements and compensation to the families that were affected by the hostage
crisis and the families have all accepted the apology.
Logic
follows that the issue should be swept under the rug and simply go down in
history as a tragic event for everyone because it was a loss of life at the
hands of a crazed man. However, Hong
Kong is demanding more. Given the
already heated relations in the Pacific, this just adds another straw to the
camel’s back. Hopefully both nations can put their pride aside and get along.
This will most likely not lead to
incident, but further irks an already rocky political climate in the Pacific.
If it does lead to conflict, it could bode detrimental to the United States and
others who have a heavily vested interest in the region.
By Christopher M. Vacek
No comments:
Post a Comment