CHINA-PHILIPPINES RETROSPECT: UNDERCOVER THEORY BY JOHN BEVERE

ZGE_1105: PSY1B GROUP II

Submitted by:
Andrea Lorraine De Veas
Carille Crysthalie Guinto
Gabriel Dionisio
Jerrille Aderey Fuentes
Jonah Andrea Gaddi
Juanita Victoria Cruz
Lyle Robbie Dela Cruz
Shyra Caunceran
Sofia Isabel Gonzalo
Tiffany Dojillo

On June 9, 1975, China and the Philippines established diplomatic ties. The majority of
their foreign contacts are in business and trade. If we take a closer look, China is the
Philippines' most important commercial partner, export market destination, and import source. It
is worth noting that the Philippines has become increasingly economically reliant on China up to
the present day. The Philippines, on the other hand, has an unfathomable amount of wealthy
islands, which has resulted in a conflict with China and years of territorial dispute over the
Spratly Islands. The direct source of the problems between China and the Philippines,
regardless of how the Philippine monument is structured, is the latter's unlawful possession of
several of the Philippines' islands and reefs in the west Philippine sea. It has been observed in
China and Philippines ties that both are decided to commit to their business with each other, but
as time and strength of authority establish more on China, they are eager to get a hold of the
Philippines territory as this leads to disagreement wherein the Philippines questions its freedom
and own power, as they should also be in fact guilty of authority to the Filipinos. The
aforementioned conflict between two countries correlates with John Bevere's Undercover theory
since these alter how people think about and perceive positions of power and authority, which
can influence each one's conduct over time, aligned to the West Philippine Sea is one of the
official designations by the government of the Republic of the Philippines with the nautical mile
124 miles in Zambales and within 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone. The West
Philippine Sea Provides an ecosystem in which thousands of types of fish or any kind of aquatic
animal. The first person to navigate the Philippine sea is Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. The
Philippines over the decade faced china because of the issue of the island because of the
Historical Rights that the areas around that beyond 200m from its mainland which it claims the
island. But on the year July 12, 2016, the Philippines won against china in the Tribunal Ruled in
the favor of the Philippines.

The conflict and the struggle over sovereignty claims in the territory have become quite
Central to Southeast Asian regional affairs, driven by increasing competition for the ocean’s
resources among fast-growing regional states. With the rise of China’s capabilities and
influence, it tried to make use of the Philippines and its condition of being one of the developing
countries without forethought about international law, such as UNCLOS or The United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea are what brings countries into a common level, whereas why
the administration has entrusted the entire the fate of the country to the Tribunal and the
compulsory dispute resolution mechanisms. As indicated in the second bullet, one of the
repercussions of this territorial dispute is that China attempts to take Freedom of Navigation,
which functions as the passage route for all marine ships in the disputed zone, resulting in the
emergence of a conflict. Officials from Southeast Asian countries and China have gathered to
discuss the incorporation of a sea's "code of conduct," which aims to reduce tensions caused by
disputes among the region's claimants, which include Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Taiwan, Vietnam, and, more recently, Indonesia. In 2002, they signed the "Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties," paving the foundations for a formal code to develop. China, on the contrary,
violated the non-binding confidence-building agreement on maritime conduct signed by China
and ASEAN in 2002. China's island-building threatens not just regional stability but also the
constitutionality of the law.

The resolution of this conflict, in the China-Philippines issue, the Undercover Theory and
its application has given resolutions to the given issue. The Republic of the Philippines had
brought the arbitration against the People’s Republic of China to challenge China’s claims to
areas of the South China Sea. This has sprouted to the Philippines getting the rights and
jurisdiction over the claims to the South China Sea, with the jurisdiction of the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). With the Undercover Theory applied, the
Philippines claims in this arbitration rightfully delegate the power to the Philippines, instead of
China. This ensures the freedom that the Philippines has and it frees them from China's
authority over them when China took over the Philippines' territory and resources. Overall, this
resolution gave the Philippines protection from China. The UNCLOS and the laws and
agreements that back that up give the Philippines protection from China's overwhelming power
against us, changing the person in authority.

The background of the author, to begin with, who is John Bevere? John is noted for his
direct and unwavering commitment to God's word. He is an internationally recognized minister
and best-selling author. His writings have been translated into more than 110 languages, and
more than 40 million copies have been sold worldwide. In addition, he is the leader of
Messenger International, a para-religious organization that offers educational materials to
churches. Undercover theory denotes a haven, a shelter, and a protected place. John went on
to say that we are subject to just one spiritual authority, and that is God's authority. John
continued by saying that there is only one spiritual authority, and that is the authority of God.
According to Bevere, it is provision and protection in return for our submission to His authority.
When we defy His authority, there is also a risk. We forfeit our desired independence when we
challenge authority. That being said, submission and obedience to authority, whether it be
delegated or direct, are the primary themes of John Bevere's book Undercover. It could change
how individuals see those in positions of power and how they respond to other people's
behavior. The elements of the undercover theory include Authority, Needy, Self-Realized Truth,
Tragic Truth, Protection, and Freedom. The needy are the ones who look to the authority for
assistance or protection, and the needy are the ones who want protection from the authority.
The tragic truth is that people who are unable to deal with a situation respond negatively. The
self-realized truth is that those who deal with problems positively.

The Undercover Theory by John Bevere has elements namely; Authority is the one who
provides support or protection to the needy, Protection and Freedom this is what the needy want
from authorities, Needy are the ones that seek protection from the authority, Self-Realized Truth
is the positive action despite suffering from a problem, and Tragic Truth which is the negative
action of those who cannot cope up with the problem. The relationship between these elements
is that the needy must submit to the authorities in order for them to receive the necessary
protection and freedom. However, freedom is frequently wrongly associated with the loss of
one’s freedom as an outcome of the power of the authorities. The needy must be aware of the
possibility of positive and negative consequences when they are submitting to the authorities. It
teaches us that when we are in submission, we must do something good or positive action so
that there will be no conflicts or problems that will happen. Through this theory, we can analyze
the authority-follower relationships and discover the potential outcomes of the decisions that
they make when they are in submission and it can also influence not only the way people see
the authorities but also how they will respond to the people’s behavior.

In conclusion, china can be seen as the authority figure as they demonstrate their power
to bully the Philippines with the Philippines being the needy as they show their submissiveness
to gain support from China. This can be observed in multiple instances with one being the
conflict between China and the Philippines. China, being an authority figure, displays ulterior
motives being able to exert control over the country by showcasing their power, and the
Philippines being the needy would have something to gain from this being the protection of
China. In reality, the Philippines is just displaying cases of self-realized truth, with the idea that
China is doing all of this to help us. The tragic truth is that China all this time is simply trying to
exert its authoritative figure over us. The dispute between the Philippines and China trails back
to January 2013 due to the territorial controversy in the West Philippine sea, the predecessors
before former President Duterte tried resolving the issue by challenging china to bring the
dispute for arbitration, however, when the former PRRD was elected he took off to china to
negotiate and “repair the strained bilateral relations between the two countries” (Godinez, 2019)
which was the total opposite of what the other presidents before him did. The China-Philippine
relation in retrospect have shown that at some point former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has
fallen under the authority for standing firm on his ground of befriending China and making
alliances, hence, the increasing militarization in the west Philippine sea also known as south
china sea. Different sectors of the government had appealed to this friend-like approach of
china, specifically, senior associate justice Antonio Carpio, thus, the said protest, former PRRD
ignored it and continued with the friendly act with the Chinese since his projects rely on the
investments the other party provided. Filipino citizens, the needy, seeking protection from the
government due to the increasingly formidable militarization of the Chinese coast in the waters
of the Philippines. Asking for freedom to operate their fishing vessel in the west Philippine sea
without the worry of getting harmed or imprisoned by the Chinese vessel. The associate of
justice has forewarned the danger China brings not only to the Philippines but also to the Global
Community. Most Filipino knew how china's aggressive acts of seizing and militarizing islands in
the West Philippine Sea. For centuries the relationship between these two countries has been
going on for years. this conflict is only one of the few problems that they have. The Philippines,
however, may have to face stricter rules and regulations by Chinese authorities in its trade
dealings. the Philippines see China as a vital economic partner to deal with for them to gain
benefits for the sake of its national development. For China, the Philippines is an important
nation that they have to get along with for them to gain the trust and respect of other states.
While protecting territorial is a must, the country should also work with the other countries for
their own benefits and mutual gains. they do what they got to do to benefit in their own way.
Sources and References:

Territorial Dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Social-Issues-Territorial-Dispute-in-the-West-P3KT5YAXH3UEY

Department of foreign affairs Manila. UNCLOS. Importance of the West Philippine Sea.
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Social-Issues-Territorial-Dispute-in-the-West-P3KT5YAXH3UEY

The West Philippine Sea’s Importance. Rappler.

https://www.rappler.com/environment/things-to-know-importance-west-philippine-sea/