I’m happy that the United States, a well-known advocate of upholding the international law, has loudly expressed its support for a peaceful and diplomatic solution in the ongoing dispute at the Spratly Islands- particularly at the Scarborough Shoal. I believe that diplomacy is the proper way of resolving the said dispute since it involves about 6 countries claiming some or all of the islets there. The claimants of the said territory should uphold the international law because all of them are member-countries of the UN. I think the dispute should be brought to the International Court of Justice. The UN should mediate to calm the claimants and help them achieve a peaceful solution to the said dispute. China and all the member-states of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) all want to be strong ‘tiger economies’ and, therefore, should avoid getting into a military conflict because such violence may hamper economic progress and stability in the whole East Asian region.