IN THE DRAGON'S LAIR
US prowls for China in the Philippines
By Herbert Docena

Since the closure of its military bases in the country in 1991, the United States has incrementally regained, transformed and deepened its military presence and intervention in the Philippines. The manner in which the US has attempted to re-establish basing in the Philippines illustrates its attempts to radically overhaul its global offensive capabilities to become more agile and efficient while overcoming mounting domestic opposition to its presence around the world.

The objectives with which the United States has sought to achieve this in the Philippines - a country that is firmly within what US analysts and strategists call "the dragon's lair" - point to the emerging US strategy toward what it has officially identified as the one country with "the greatest potential to compete with the United States" - China. In this strategy, the Philippines, by virtue both of its location as well as its political disposition towards the US relative to its neighbors, plays a crucial role.

Other countries in the vicinity of China are either geographically less than ideal, or else, have proven to be unwilling to consent to US requests for basing or access. While Singapore, for example, has proven more accommodating to the US than others, its small size is seen as limiting US options. Indonesia and Malaysia, on the other hand, have not only openly castigated US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have also rejected US demands to station in and operate from their countries. Even Thailand, which is a close US ally, has actually rejected US overtures to be allowed to station ships in or to deploy troops to its territory. Regardless of their attitudes toward the United States, most countries in the region simply do not see China as a threat and have therefore refused to go along any strategy that could antagonize it.

Hence, the United States finds that it needs the Philippines more than ever. Not only is it ideally located geographically, its government has so far stood out among its neighbors for being far more willing to align itself with US demands. But with China also aggressively courting Filipino leaders, this too could change. As the ensuing geopolitical competition heats up, the Philippines could tip the balance one way or the other. Link to the whole article

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I found this interesting article recently while browsing the web for some news.
It is quite obvious that China is rising in terms of economy, military and influence, and on its way to becoming a superpower, and some already consider it as one. History will tell us that this world is not big enough for 2 superpowers especially if they have conflicting ideals which has the potential to antagonize each other that could lead to a more serious situation e.g. the Cold War between the US and USSR a few decades ago despite being allies during WW2. A serious conflict between the US and China seems to be unlikely for the time being and hopefully it stays that way, but we never know in the future when China becomes more powerful?

So my question is, as a Filipino which side are you more inclined to take, the US or China and why?

This is not an anti-Chinese or anti-whatever topic and I hope it doesn't turn into one. This is a pretty sensitive topic so please discuss it in a civil and respectful manner.
I sure hope that the unfortunate time when we have to choose which side to take doesn't come, but in case it does...

nothing. but if i had to choose, i would choose china... US is a warmongering nation, always involved in most of the wars, while china remain silent. although both are brutal nations

I'm more inclined to side with US, since I'm a citizen of this country, and it has been very good to me and to other Fil-Ams so far, and share similar culture and values. So I find it very hard to turn my back on the US for something less familiar, though connected by blood.

Here comes the $hitbag sucking American cocks once again.

LOL! Look who's still here.

You been waiting this long for me? I must say I'm falttered. You must really wanna suck my d!ck real bad huh?
You even kept a picture of me.

But sorry to tell you that I'm not in to psychotic homosexual stalkers like yourself.
So I'm putting you in my ignore list.
I'm sure you're gonna go through the trouble of starting another username again like you did thousands of times before, which goes to show how obsessed and pathetic you really are. Though, it brings a smile to my face everytime you do so.

Adios, maricon.

The problem with Filipinos is that we believe that there is only two options. Milk this situation. When big greedy bastards give you the opportunity: RAPE IT! You are worthless if you pick either or. In the end you have no friends but yourself. If you cannot be the lion you've got to be the fox. Think before you act, lie before you give answers and smile but carry a knife on your back. When the small give in to big greedy monsters, it will lose its power. You have no obligation but to yourself. Look at you for the past 100 years. Friends? "Friends" but no friends.

Remain neutral. It would be a cost to both sides if we sided with each. In the case of a U.S.-China conflict, siding with the U.S. would cause Chian to attack the Philippines to regain control, if we side with China then we are viewed as an enemy by the West, which the Philippines heavily relies.

^neutral? be realistic. being neutral is to be a total goof. and we all know we're more attached to one than the other, something which we cannot change. what i mean the third option is play them off for your own good. all the cheese coming out of the chinese and the more attention given again to us by our 'big white brothers' because of our strategic location. work to our advantage. when we want new gear and call it 'war on terrorism' let it be, free fu-king $hit right there. when Chinese give you incentives e.g. those we use to buy weapons to fight the Commies, so let it be. the more you budge on the left, the other gives you more attention. he remembers his 'friend'. the friend that was oh so good to him all these years, but he has neglected on many occasions. use this unusual recent strength of the peso over the dollar.

and war between those two? haha. it's stupid to believe that two of the most market hungry peoples would disrupt their mutual money grubbing schemes for war. think it like little boys and fighting: it's ritualistic. these are businessmen intent on making profit. no profit = not good business and plus its expensive. but in terms of real war, $hit. but they will play the age old game of power balancing, trying to buff up defenses trying to sway one side, trying to pry openings but they're not going to fight.

USA.

neutral is for pussies. ranel.. wtf? im disappointed @ u.

I remember how the U.S called you N*ggas and then shot children to death.

A pragmatic approach, could be for the best interest of the RP.

Who's the dude?

And the Chinese aren't racist against Filipinos? haha. Let's be serious. A lot of East Asians look at us SEAsians like racist white people look at blacks.

Once again my brothers remember the cue: Smile, smile always smile. People judge you how you look. Remember they're the ones who need you, as they have many times forgotten you. If you're going to be a whore, at least be a paid whore. And when you can stand up a bit, reinvest that $hit to the bank. Be smart, this whole world is a big supermarket, the ones who make the big cheese are the ones who put the penis in the butt and not the one mopping the floor afterward.

Youzz ya own bestfriend.

Be neutral. Well, be like that b!tch that has 2 guys fighter over her - let them cater to us.

Who ever invests more in our country and gives us the most rewarding terms is going to be our most-favored nation.

if ever a war happens between those two, the Philippines would surely go with the US.
china will never attain prominence in the eyes of the Filipinos or the world even if it becomes a bamboo cannon superpower.

I think most would choose the U.S. since we have a history with them...

Yeah, but the U.S. is one of the many reasons why the Philippines is a Third world country still. The U.S. and other nations like Canada and the EU keep making money off of the Filipino natural resources.

which makes it a good thing they don't care what you think

Will any of the deals significantly help the Philippines economically?

"The quick brown fox"

I remember a Filipino movie with that title.
But yeah, well said. Play the game like the big players would.

NEUTRAL,LIKE SWITZERLAND

I don't understand why Chinese(HK) hire so many Filipina maids when Filipinos are so anti-Chinese ? Sigh

better be with the US.

Damn them Chinese commies. (Gov.)

Ironic.....I am a tsinoy

unfortunately for china....that's very true.

they don't seem to trust chinese gov't much and what with most chinazis and other chinese here are displaying on af, perception would be hard to erase.

lets just all sit back and watch all hell breaks lose in some goddam random western obscure chinese province to breakaway or some fu-k happens in taiwan. We go neutral.........for awhile then ...all of a sudden WE STRIKE at Macau and proclaim it our protectrate coz they have casinos and all that. :P

But then again.........we'll have to set up pinoy sleeper cells disguised as OFWs then strike when ready at their heart

MWUAHAHAH!

.........ok thats too much beer for me.

dude, you're giving away our game..

tough choice.

on one hand, you have the Americans who thinks of the Filipino's as nothing more then a loyal dog.

and on the other hand, you have the Chinese who don't think much of the Filipines to begin with lol.

well...........we can always go unexpected........like..........side with Russia (damn that was unexpected.)

you might as well have sided with China then... Russia is commie as well lol.

atleast you guys have history and can deal with China.

would you rather a bunch of drunk rooski's walking down your streets ?

you guys should just wait for the future world powers to emerge, US and Russia are on the decline anyway.

you might as well have sided with China then... Russia is commie as well lol.

no. They are more of "nationalist" now.

We can always have China and Russia go rivalling each other while Jollibee buys more failing companies from China.

And all this must happen when Eddy Gil is the President.

^^^

true....or let the viets diminish the chinese population first then let all tsinoys go back to the mainland to takeover their gov't.

puro ka patawa pogpog..

and after all the dust is settled. WE CAN now establish the pre ordained Philippine Empire the guy at the 500 peso bill envisioned




http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/The_Filipino_Empire

If Filipinos were not anti-Chinese, the Philippines would be full of Chinese, second and third generation Chinese and Chinese made goods, oh wait, it already is

I guess Filipinos aren't anti-Chinese after all....

At least the chinese gov't always gets their job done, unlike ours which is a retarded democracy.

why not europe (continental)? if you think a step ahead..
first, europe is capable of a slow reaction at least, I mean the society, while US and CN seem entirely stubborn and display in their policies some "technical" versatility but nothing more.
second, there is a similar dharma in trying to unite different languages and political/religious views into a greater good.
third, it looks good in the geometry (geographically). -> draw a circular map of america, europe, russia+china, philippines (plus thailand, japan and vietnam would probably support that geometry in a friiendly way)..
europe and pinas capable of multilateral connections while maintaining own position and being not alone.
fourth, europe will learn to appreciate deeper contact to the philippines as a sensitive counterbalance to african and arab/muslim interests and immigrants, while there is much less enmity between filipino majority and muslims (regional) than between russian or american mainstream to muslims (global).
isues: some governments are still thinking in colonialist mode (some financial and feudal aristocracy still exist), but there is also strong opposition to that, plus serious blowback from NGOs and citizens with non-european heritage. the average european has had enough of that mess and would refrain from the evil past.

who the hell wants to support commie china? I mean hell think of Tiananmen, then Tibet.

"At least the chinese gov't always gets their job done, unlike ours which is a retarded democracy."

Manuel Quezon said.

"I prefer a country run like hell by Filipinos to a country run like heaven by Americans. Because, however bad a Filipino government might be, we can always change it."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_people

all filipino people have chinese blood in them

asians seems to be still a lit bit wary of europe considering that it was mainly europeans who has conquered/colonized/subjugated other countries in the past and although the EU already exist, it hasn't manifested itself yet as a powerhouse to be reckoned with.

but if i'm made to choose between china and EU, i might consider EU more despite the asian blood running in my veins.

thanks for the answer, you are giving me some hope

the change of the times has brought one particular advantage:
it becomes possible to interact on smallscale level, personal, societal proceedings from charity to NGO to entertainment, and smaller business level, and also educational (language studies, counseling etc). this can happen in a million instants and places at the same time.
in earlier times authorities were entirely jealous (worldwide) and wanted to control everything and streamline it under their political agendas. the chinese authorities still are trying but they are not stopping the progress of times. there is growing "diversity" in everything, also in china, because this is required for to survive by developing a modern economy.

the EU is not yet becoming a powerhouse, ok, but it shouldn't become so unless there is enough political maturity in elites and normal population also, to act with large-scale responsibility that takes care of the whole world, rather than just the selfish interest of the day (like I would name the new ongoing oil wars).

so if you allow me a soft comparison, the philippines also already exist, and in spite of strong ethnic diversity and political struggles about "provincialism" virtually everyone has understood the necessity of becoming a wholesome nation. this has happened with great success, and we are perceiving that the philippines are holding their own particular and strong position.
a mutual exchange of experience and knowledge should be quite exciting.

what europeans did in terms of colonial excesses is strongly declining, plz look at the historical time tables, and the ground of much that happened was national chauvinism, while greed and economic interest alone, without nationalism would have allowed better and less dirty ways to succeed. the EU is going to balance and curb regional chauvinism and has the task to balance it with international and global requirements. (of course it is required to maintain a certain level of regional identity and interest, otherwise all strength would be lost by lack of motivation and structure)
a good recent example is the "french issue". in former times it would not have been possible to force france to take responsibility of colonial crimes, but now something is going to happen. mainstream news actually have outed the nasty role of french politicians and other forces in the mass-killing between the hutu and tutsi tribes in africa. I hope it has been the last time for such activity, and the inner formula and structure of the EU is developing its influence against such unilateral and detrimental "projects" of its members.

further, it should be obvious, that past the continental europeans, there came the british, and then the american agenda of world domination.
just that in the meantime, asian nations had been developing military, technical and dialectic (political..) facilities to deal with it and have growing success, while they didn't have so many cannons during the era of lapu-lapu..


as kind of an observer, I came to a theory, that it has become almost impossible, and also meaningless to conquer and occupy a country like the philippines, because they have developed particular human skills and ways to self-organize, so to prevent the enemy from reaping any larger benefit from the intrusion. the only way of colonization would be by corruption and buying up everything. and this is something that is in the spot-light already, so there is some mitigation.
it would be of extreme advantage when europeans develop the same kind of skills, including development of inner forces against intrusive "buying up". so, my question is, can we kind of help each other in these ways?

I see this as a very modern way of developing power, it is the power of maintaining one's own existence and own genuine development while wasting less energy and economic force than others.

Why did you say all Filipinos have Chinese blood? It only states that only 53% have Chinese Blood.

the ancestors of the 53% interbred with the rest of population,those 53% are just direct mixes from chinese.

I don't care if the U.S. needs us, we don't need THEM. China is not a threat to us, they are our neighbor and we must learn to coexist peacefully with them and our other Asian neighbors. If the U.S. sees China as a threat and wants to secure a base in a country near it, it's got nothing to do with us. We want no part of that. They have to go find a base elsewhere.

Overall I'm siding with China. At least they don't try to meddle in the affairs of other countries, unlike the U.S. who wants to everyone to have "democratic principles" like them. The U.S. is arrogant because they want to be the sole superpower in the world, they're annoying because they try to act as the "global police" and meddle in other countries' affairs, and hypocrites because they impose sanctions on nations that try to develop nuclear weapons or criticize nations that have high military budgets when they themselves possess the largest nuclear arsenal in the world and have a defense budget many, many times higher than that of any other nation.

WOW. such ignorance in this post/ China not meddling? HAH! Are you kidding me? The last foreign enemy we fought were the Chinese, Korean War everyone? Nope nobody gives a $hit. Kids these days. China not meddling? Oh come on man. Tiananmen Massacre, the crap in Tibet, freedom of the Press, censors.

damn commie bastards (ironic. I am a tsinoy, but blame my rabid anti commie attitude to my ancestros fleeeing the ALL GREAT CULTURAL REVOLUTION of the GREAT CHAIRMAN MAO. SOme say things change.......yeah economically, they just got more money to enforce the centralist attitude of communism even though they dont give a $hit anymore of the "equal" bul$hit.)

And just because on Admin of US Govt. All of a sudden american bashing seems fashionable again to look cool, Do you know why the Admin is all intent in "meddling" in other countries affairs. STATUS QUO, the last tim America didnt give a $hit in all the Arms Race of the 30s oh look WW2 jsut happened.

You're stupid, where the hell do you think those things happened? They were all internal Chinese affairs. I'm talking about them meddling in other countries.

meddling. sure,

lets see. Do tell me what happned at the Korean War on Nov. 1, 1950

you know what, china (proc) has stealthily build structures on an island in the spratleys which the Philippines has been occupying, saying those were just fishermen resthouses with a landing strip.

then, they tried to take over tubahata reef putting some communication structure again, trying to establish a presence so they can justify that it is theirs also, and tubahata reef is much closer than spratleys to manila.

they're inching their way closer and closer to our shores without you knowing it, soon you'll just wake up Luzon is already a communist country run by Joma Sison and the visayas and mindanao is already a different country run by us.

okay lng iyon pogpog at least wla ng mga kurakot sa pilipinas,mas tatahimik na.

'kala ko ako lang marunong magpatawa...

wala ng pilipinas at magiging tahimik na nga dahil magiging memorial lot na lahat ng lupain!

I will migrate to Borneo if that is the case.

I rather be in a kurakot country instead of a communist country.

fascist


luzon will be like china or vietnam now if that happens,yun lng.