MERGED: CHINA: Next Superpower?

[leonell]

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para nko war over a stupid territory?,.... ako nlng ihatag ang gamay na territory oi kaysa ma stampede ta nila haha

Well, take it like this. If we let China claim the West Philippine Sea. It's like saying, "the Philippines is just all talk and should not be taken seriously". Also, this will be a big blow to our sovereignty and dignity as a nation. Look at Vietnam, knowing what they are, they're still fighting for it. Paracels are rightfully for Vietnam and Scarborough Shoal is for the Philippines. It is what the UNCLOS dictates. China's historical based claim is weak, we all know that.

Don't worry, China is also feeling the pressure. Vietnam brings along Uncle Russia in it's back and the Philippines has Uncle Sam, Uncle Hu wouldn't dare face a proxy war with Russia and the USA.

China must admit it, if ever they attack the Philippines, the U.S will 'definitely' intervene as part of the 1951 MDT with PHL. Reality wise, in conventional warfare, if China faces off with the U.S in an open war, America can obliterate their army in a fast quick blow. China is greatly outmatched by both Russia and even just the United States alone.

And China is also afraid of the backlash, a war will do on their image as a major power in the world. No nation will trust China if they just simply attack a small helpless nation like PHL just for such a 'redundant' reason.

[|ceman]

I said it before and I'll say it again, di lagi manghilabot ang US sa China, much more not for their country, if they'll step in, daug or pildi, pildi gihapon sila, that will pull them back years behind. Mao na, ako Pinas, don't make the Big Giant angry, we don't want them to get angry, mao nang resulta sa atong bansa being a weakling tungod anang mga corruption, instead of upgrading the military, ato na gi pangbakasyon sa mga misis ni General, Bisag si Manong Johnny nag sige pa yaw2x about lecturing but in the end, ni sulti pud diay na mu dagan nalng ta kung mu giyera na jud hehehe, that's just the way it is

US not coming to Philippines' aid vs China

By Julie M. Aurelio, Norman Bordadora in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | ANN – Sun, Jun 12, 2011tweet17EmailPrintManila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The United States has said it will not side with any party in the Spratlys conflict, which is to say that the Philippines' most powerful ally will not be coming to its aid should its spat with China escalate into a shooting war.

The US Embassy made this clear in reaction to a Malacanang (the presidential palace) statement expressing confidence that Washington would honour its commitment under the two countries' Mutual Defence Treaty (MDT) to come to the aid of a beleaguered ally.

"The US does not take sides in regional territorial disputes," the US press attache Rebecca Thompson said in an e-mailed statement when contacted for comment to deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte's invoking of the 60-year-old MDT.

Thompson said the US was "troubled by incidents in the South China Sea in recent days that have raised tensions in the region" and that Washington opposes "the use or threat of force" by any of the countries with rival claims to the Spratly islands.

The brief statement said the US "shares a number of national interests with the international community in the South China Sea" but did not mention the Philippines or the two countries' over-a-hundred-year-old ties and mutual defence pact.

In an interview on state-run dzRB radio earlier on Saturday, Valte figured the Philippines could count on its superpower ally should the situation with China deteriorate because of the MDT.

"I haven't seen the terms of the MDT quite recently but I know that as an ally, the United States will help if ever it reaches that point because of the Mutual Defence Treaty," she said.

"Hopefully, it doesn't get to that point because, again, we are committed to the resolution of the issue in the most diplomatic and the most peaceful way possible," she added.

Armed Forces Chief General Eduardo Oban was also earlier quoted as saying that the military remained "hopeful that the Americans will not stand aside should the conflict erupt and that they can invoke the MDT with the US".

The MDT was signed on Aug 13, 1951, in Washington, DC with both parties declaring "publicly and formally their sense of unity and their common determination to defend themselves against external armed attack".

Under the eight articles of the treaty, both parties agree to aid and support each other in settling any international disputes by peaceful means, among others.

Sentor Francis Escudero said the Department of Foreign Affairs should be designated as the lead agency to talk about the Spratlys issue in public.

Avoid any mistakes

He said Malacanang should not do so through its spokespersons "in order to avoid any faux pas on our part".

Escudero said the government should also review the MDT to ascertain if US forces would indeed come to the rescue if the Philippines is attacked because of the Spratlys dispute.

He said Palace officials should carefully review the MDT, read through its fine print and get confirmations from the US government "if indeed this situation is covered".

But he remained optimistic that US military support would be given in case of an armed conflict as "a gesture of longstanding friendship".

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House would leave it to the Department of Foreign Affairs assert the country's sovereignty claim over the West Philippine Sea.

"The DFA is articulating our position and we're supporting it," he said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Commodore Miguel Rodriguez said the AFP leaves it to the DFA to make an official comment on the developments in the Spratlys issue.

Not joining Viet Nam

"We submit our reports to the DFA and the DFA crafts the country's position on KIG [Kalayaan Island Group] affairs," he said, referring to the portion of the Spratlys claimed by the Philippines.

He also said the military was not joining Viet Nam, another Spratlys claimant, in the deepening rift with China over the issue.

"We are not looking at partnering with one country against another country," he said.

At a Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Independence Day dinner Saturday night, President Aquino came face to face with Chinese Ambassador Liu Jiangchao who only a few days ago had warned claimant states to stop exploring for oil in the Spratlys.

"Like all neighbours, I know we may have our disagreements sometimes," Aquino said in his speech, acknowledging Liu's presence.

"(But) no one can deny the benefits our relationship has brought to both our countries throughout the years," he added.

Liu adverted to "incidents" that have arisen between the two countries since Aquino came to power.

"But facts have manifested we are stronger than these tests," he said.

Liu said the August 23 botched hostage crisis involving Hong Kong tourists had been settled with a "loving and understanding heart".

"The last thing the Chinese government and people want to see is that the [Spratlys] dispute stands in the way of the progress of our wonderful relations and the friendship and brotherhood of our two peoples," Liu said, who hinted at a visit to China from Aquino later this year.

In the past two weeks, the Philippines has accused China of making at least six incursions into Philippine territory in the past four months, a charge that Beijing has dismissed as rumors.

Recently, the Aquino government has made a point of referring to the South China Sea as the West Philippine Sea to bolster its claim to certain parts of the Spratlys. With reports from Christian V. Esguerra, DJ Yap and Cynthia D. Balana

[Soul Doctor]

We will never be ready for China.
That's a fact.

But that doesn't meant that we will just allow ourselves to be raped and bullied by China
or any other Asian nation. We should learn to stand against these people.

We should start by stopping illegal smuggling of items from China.
These cheap items from china are for sure smuggled illegally judging from their selling price.

We should do it by arresting all these street demonstrators.
They are just nuisance to the street and they have not done anything productive for this country.
They stimulate all the labor strikes which we all has nothing but negative impact on our local industry.
They help driving investors away and investors are going to china because there are no labor strikes there.

Foreign investors stay away from us because they are afraid that these labor strikes could affect their investment or could paralyze production and cause production losses.
These strikes resulted to employers hiring only contractual workers and eventually killing the chances of filipinos getting permanent employment.

[Soul Doctor]

We must also remember that our president has chinese blood.
So we just wait and see what his move will be.
i know he will aim for diplomacy.
i just wish he would show some balls.

[cardo]

As for us being invaded by China, thats too far fetched, only border skirmishes but what can we do...nothing! We can only watch them harrass our isolated territory, too bad the US wont back us up on this.

I wonder where the heck are those "patriotic" left-winged activist that kept on protesting the US embassy, they should go at China's doorstep and do their act shouting their lungs out. Anyways, diplomacy would always be handy during these times. China can't afford to wage war against its ASEAN neighbors, they're smart enough to know the consequence if war should ever materialize, it'll be a big blow on their booming economy.

[|ceman]

lesson of the story, wag iasa sa iba, US has been long stretched already, sa middle east pa lang daan, they can't afford to enter into another war that is not their own, kita pud, mao jud na character sa pinoy, wa pa gani nag sugod, asa na daun sa America, why dont we stand on our own feet, kung di sila ka help, cant blame them, but the least we can do is defend ourselves, nya wa nalng pud ta ulaw sa US, after sila pahawaon, karon na nag kinanglan ug tabang, dagan daun sa ilawm sa ilang palda

[sadik]

unsaon mn nato pag daog vs. China nga abusayaft man gani wa pata ka sulbad sa problema ...
infact were 10 years or 15 years behind from their technology.. maybe in our dreams

[cobraKing]

kaya ra na oi..naa btaw c garcia ug ligot sa frontline..modernized man ang ilahang bulsa sa AFP budget..nyahahaha!

[jumper_stage]

kung mao ni manibat tas america og patabang tang papa obama..ehehe

[flanker]

There is no way the US will intervene against a country that has NUKES! Just ask KIM JONG IL.

The best thing we can do is cooperation. We need China more than China needs us.