Netizens need mutual respect

There is no better place to find nationalism rearing its ugly head than in cyberspace, where reasoned debate often gives way to an outpouring of slurs and invective.

Thus it is no surprise that with tempers running high over the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines, a war of words has been raging between netizens in the two countries.

Some Chinese have reportedly called for an import ban on products such as bananas and mangoes from the Philippines, while some in the Philippines have used the provocative hashtag "Chexit", a pun on Brexit, on social media networks.