Why not learn to share assets?

So on to the political imbroglio. The old Hindu temple on the Cambodian border could be jointly administered by both countries. Perhaps a staff of two dozen could do the job. Money from tourists could be divvied up accordingly – and the border conflict could be snuffed out.

In the same vein, the islands in the South China Sea, whose ownership is being disputed by China and six other countries, could be jointly administered. Unfortunately, sharing is not a concept embraced by Asians. Asia is a landmass where nearly every house and property is enclosed by a high wall and/or barbed wire fence. Among the hundreds of World Heritage sites, 18 are jointly administered by bordering countries. How many of those are in Asia? None. Praya Wihea (oh, sorry, Preah Vihear) and the rock islands in the South China Sea could serve as examples of how Asians can share stewardship of little bits of property – if Asean so chose to consider that. 

Better yet for the islands would be to have them declared international marine reserves – owned by no country, and thereby owned by everyone. They could be left to nature, which had been humbly doing its cycles for hundreds of thousands of years before people came along to declare possession and threaten to overfish the region, and possibly cause a few oil spills to spice things up. Oh, and a possible war at sea, which is calamitous for marine life and other species.

Ken Albertsen

Chiang Rai