In the grand theater of international diplomacy, the art of renaming seas has become the latest act. In 2012, then-President Benigno Aquino III issued Administrative Order No. 29, christening the waters west of the Philippine archipelago as the “West Philippine Sea.” 

Imagine if other leaders caught this renaming fever. Donald Trump might have declared the Atlantic Ocean as the “Great American Pond,” complete with plans for the world’s largest floating golf course. Meanwhile, across the Pacific, China’s infamous nine-dash line could be rebranded as the “Great Wall of Water,” with guided tours and commemorative T-shirts.

What’s next? A Filipino senator floating the idea of renaming the “South China Sea” to the “Greater West Philippine Sea,” perhaps to one-up cartographers worldwide. 

In this age of rebranding, perhaps it’s time we all took a step back and remembered that a sea by any other name would still be as salty.