So America’s awesome military is now well on its way to staging a triumphant return to the shores of its bosses’ hapless former colony. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) “highlights” the recent meeting between Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and US President Barack Obama. However, reports abound that many Filipinos supposedly aren’t happy with the deal which, in practice, works around constitutional bars against many forms of US troop deployment within Philippine territory. While the rhetoric surrounding this negativity may be loud, it is old and lame.
Left without US military assistance, the Philippines is a largely helpless and defenseless nation.
Militant group Gabriela (supposedly a champion of “womens’ issues”), for example, expressed fears that the increase in US troop deployments to the Philippines will result in an increase in crime around areas where they are stationed. According to Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan “the country could see a rise in women and child abuse cases as a result of the 10-year defense deal that will allow greater US military presence in the country.”
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“They will still violate and go around the provisions. Tayo pa rin ang dehado.”
Ilagan said aside from a possible rise in cases of human rights violations, the defense pact can also cause damage to the country’s environment.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares shared Ilagan’s sentiment against the deal. “Ang daming nangyaring krimen noong panahon ng bases – rape, child prostitution, illegal drugs, human rights violations – mayroon ka bang nalaman na isang Amerikanong na-convict?”
Ilagan seems to conveniently forget, however, that many of the most heinous crimes in the Philippines are perpetrated by Filipinos themselves. Indeed, it is likely that crime that can be directly attributed to American military personnel is statistically insignificant. Indeed, the most recent high-profile crackdowns on child abuse in the Philippines were, in fact, initiated by foreign law enforcement agencies. This is another example of the way Filipinos are motivated by foreign pressure first before any self-initiative. Left to their own devices, local law enforcement agencies will have likely left that cancer to fester right under their noses.
Ilagan should also consider the tens (possibly hundreds) of thousands of Filipino lives that were saved and relieved of their misery by the awesome might of the US military back in late 2013 after super typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines. If there were “victims” of “human rights violations” supposedly perpetrated by US troops in the past, as Ilagan points out, maybe that bit of math will put things in a bit more perspective for the honourable party-list “representative”. Perhaps Ilagan should, instead, spend her days going after her colleagues in government who make a killing syphoning off money intended for the rehabilitation of the disaster areas.
More to the point, the country is currently reeling from a vast corruption scandal, the scale of which investigators and observers alike are only beginning to understand. Though top members of the Philippine Senate have been implicated (and many more have yet to be revealed) in this appalling case of national plunder, many Filipinos doubt that any of these officials, most of whom are backed by large, powerful, and wealthy political machines, will ever see a day in prison.
Suffice to say, there are other, more pressing things Filipino “activists” should be worrying about than, say, American GI’s on Philippine soil. Perhaps they should keep the heat on pork barrel thieves and murderous Mindanao warlords like Andal Ampatuan rather than on a country and its government that, according to recent research, Filipinos love. In short, the Filipino people’s enemy is not America — it is themselves and the government they’ve built for themselves. It’s high time our so-called “activists” figure that out.
[Photo courtesy UPI.]
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
The government for the people, by the people
I’d rather government “not by the people, but for the people” in this case.
@Pablo:
Philippine “Democrazy”…it is government “fool” the people; “buy” the people; and “off” the people…it is weird but true…fuedal oligarchy forever!
Maybe the bases and their immediate area would look nice again with the Americans back and not steaming piles of garbage when they left.
True perhaps, but what happens when they leave? No doubt without proper solution, garbage will pile up after they leave. The soldiers are a short term solution.
If they solve the garbage problem, what happens to the people in the shanties?
Whats make you think they will ever leave?
I don’t know what to think about this deal. I’ve read up on US news and the current corruption of the Obama administration, and I don’t think Obama’s visit marks a good sign. I’m afraid that there will be worse effects to this deal. Americans could be planning a war with China, and could be using the Philippines as an accessory. The soldiers might be able to help us solve a social issue or two, but I think they might create more social issues than they are supposed to solve.
USA to start a WAR with the Chinese? the country and its people who are doing the mass production for the American corporations/companies? That is a laugh!
GET A CLUE!,will you! OMG! Any,so called, ‘War’ will be scripted with ‘acceptable’ losses for both countries and the rich will laugh all the way to the bank,as usual.its dummies like you who make the division of the masses possible and why the masses are so easy to conquer!
USA going to war with China? That’s a good deal if you’d ask me, especially if USA wins.
Philippines, America’s rent boy in Asia. Some things never change colonized by the Spanish and 500 years on still being told what to do by foreigners.
IDK how factual that ‘rape’ actually was! Rape is a very difficult thing to prosecute.The Filipina would not be the first woman to cry rape for any number of reasons Bringing disgrace on her family for staying out too late, etc,etc,etc…
Nor would she have been the first Filipina raped by a US serviceman.
Speaking of victims, what happened to that lady that got raped in a van by US troops? Isn’t she living in the US now? At least that’s the last I heard of that issue.
she dropped the charges if i remember correctly. so it was consensual sex
hope not to see another communist-fanatics naming wars here.
So far, if they’re worried about the possible crimes that may happen then shouldn’t they be hinting more on our justice system?
So in a way we don’t have to worry about a possible Chinese aggression as much as we should worry about the pork barrel case and what to do with the people involve.
Don’t know why the US would bother wasting, money and blood defending a thankless lot who mostly do nothing but twist facts to play the usual victim card. The US should let Philippines swing in the breeze and see how long it takes for the tune to change. For the record I’m not American.
I WONDER why the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is eerily silent on the Philippine nuclear-free policy?
Gabriela and Bayan muna doesnt want US forces in our country because the americans will help our govt obliterate the communist insurgents that are of the same kind as the 2 said partylists/groups. I myself am ashamed that we filipinos have to rely on foreign forces for our own defense.
And as an American, I am ashamed that the only thing my country seems to be good at is war.
But actually, I think you Filipinos are in an enviable situation. You can enjoy your lives and build your country while letting us deal with China. You just need a bit of diplomatic finesse to keep the game going.
Maybe you do not remember the cars of the 1960’s early 70’s or the furniture that is still solid as the oaks it came from in 1935.
Americans can make the best products on earth but Corporations do not want affluent or even ‘middle-class’ workers. The thing to be ashamed of is what you shoud be OUTRAGED about,OK? and that is a congress and supreme court that has sold the entire country to the Chinese in the name of profits.as the USA descends into 3rd world status you Redondo should be outraged.
@Redondo:
We don’t want your help; if it is exchanged with our dignity and self respect…you can keep your help/aid…leave us alone…stop intervening in our country…
I agree with you the Philippines should be left alone.
Truth hurts. We cant handle international disputes without USA. Napoles and her gang took all the money allocated for our military modernization.
“We don’t want your help; if it is exchanged with our dignity and self respect…you can keep your help/aid…leave us alone…”
On this, SURPRISINGLY, I wholeheartedly agree. You should work to have all OFWs who work overseas for a pittance individually, but who collectively make the economy on the Philippines tick, come back HOME to the Philippines.
Furthermore, you should work to not have foreigners to come and invest in the Philippines. Instead you should advocate that only Filipinos, who of course pay top dollar for labor, should own ALL businesses in the Philippines.
Are you a natural NUTCASE?
You aren’t Iraq or Afghanistan. You weren’t invaded. You government begs us to come and we do. I surely don’t hear anyone complaining about the MILLIONS of dollars in US monetary and humanitarian aid offered during the days and weeks after the typhoon hit. Wonder why THAT is?
I would’ve liked this idea if this were the 1950s, when there were a lot more reasons to be optimistic about the Philippines in general.
Hmm, Gabriela didn’t mention that other excuse, that Americans will stimulate prostitution when they come back. The thing is, the Americans didn’t ask for prostitutes, it’s the pimps who offer them.
And of course, some anti-Americanists want to shift the blame on problems of the country to the foreigners, so that they will absolve themselves of the faults of our culture that are our own, and do nothing. Faults such as being disrespectfully noisy and discourteous towards others.
and why do people go into prostitution? the economy is bad
and whose job is it to run the economy?
Not the Philippine government. And certainly not the US government.
In the the case of the Philippines, the (bad) economy has little to do with the reason why some go into prostitution; it’s more about the “easy/easier way out of poverty” mentality being the main cause.
So your contention is that (Filipino) prostitutes are just too lazy to work in conventional fields of endeavour? What proof do you have that this is the case?
I didnt see any mention of laziness anywhere up there, Perhaps easy as easy money and someplace to work where they dont kick you out after 5 months?1.
1. Lisa, from Goodtimes.
nopenope,
Pardon me, but how are we supposed to interpret ‘easy money’ as anything but ‘abundant returns for little or no effort’? That is the very attitude that characterises the indolent. Your explanation that ‘easy money’ actually means ‘regular’ and/or permanent employment is off on a different tangent. Incidentally, being let go after a temporary five month stint doesn’t prevent anyone from getting employed in another company. Thousands of Filipinos persist in this manner; just to keep food on the table. It doesn’t mean that regular salaried employees work any less or that their jobs are less difficult, either.
are you joking?…being a prostitute is not easy.. girls are trapped in there.
I would like to believe the sentiments of Gabriela, unfortunately it is almost racists? , and my time in foreigner hot spots and small towns will forever torment me.
There are night clubs every where!
We only have ourselves and our constitution to blame for stimulating this poor girls into a life of plenty but and only in my dim opinion, indignity.
If they truly want to stop prostitution taking note from islamic states might help, and maybe just maybe bangsamoro.
“They will still violate and go around the provisions. Tayo pa rin ang dehado.” -Ilagan.
Gabriela and those other similar groups should be reminded about something called “Presumption of innocence.” or “Innocent until proven guilty.” What happened? Did they just throw that out of window? They should be careful of throwing accusations like that. And I also think that comment against foreigners is racist, they might as well say the same thing to regular tourists.
To be honest America doesn’t have the best track record of allowing their troops to be held accountable for breaking the law.
@ Benigno, True dat Mon! The problem in the Filippines is a corruption based political system that is just robbing the country blind. The fact that most filipino’s, as the article stated ‘do not understand’ the size and scale and scope of the current plundering of the treasury and entire economy speaks to the utter idiocy of the people.
Your being robbed blind by these scumbags! What is soooo hard to figure out? Does the Filipino really need a weather man to know which way the wind blows?
Apparently, uh…YES!
If American trrops are present in our soil…surely American pressure will be on the politicians again to work for American interest..
I believe for the independence of the Philippines, on all matters…we should learn to defend ourselves; solve our own problems; handle our own affairs…this is the way to grow maturely…
If American troops are here…would you believe they would erect ther tents in far away places in the Philippines? No…sir…
They would need good housing; good warehouses to put their equipment and logistics; and good entertainment (prostitution)…
If we can learn to stand by ourselves…other countries will help us…other than the Americans…we will gain respect!
Anyway American mercenary bloggers are already here in this GRP Website to influence us and sway our opinions…at the request of Aquino and Roxas…
And exactly how can the Philippines defend itself at this point? The congress and senate are a mess, the country is riddled with poor people, there’s brain drain since many are leaving to work overseas, the local military is ill equipped and trained, China has nukes, the mines are run by Chinese businessmen, and the rainy season has started so the government will have to worry about future flooding and other weather-related calamities(may God forbid).
As for the prostitutes, the problem is no longer on the US troops but on the former. They should choose a better life instead.
And are you not also trying to sway people with your opinion by posting here? Don’t be a hypocrite. Even Japan, a country that is decades ahead of the Philippines rely on US help. Let’s not let our Filipino pride blind us from the reality that we are not that powerful.
While it is good to believe in the people’s abilities and as much as we want Filipinos to prosper by their own hands, it just isn’t feasible at this point. Maybe after the UNCLOS says West Philippine sea does belong to the Philippines then maybe Filipinos can start building up its own military capabilities as well as improve the economy.
“Article five [of the US-Japan security treaty] covers all territories under Japan’s administration, including [the] Senkaku Islands,” Obama said unequivocally, referring to the East China Sea archipelago which Beijing calls the Diaoyus, according to Agence France-Presse.
Compared to that Obama didn’t swore to help the Philippines if China ever attack the contested island and territories such as Spratlys.
The US will only move where their interest is involve.
Not true. The US military is committed to defending the Philippines. Unlike some Filipinos, the US still considers the Philippines a friend and ally and will NOT let it be attacked.
@Vibeit:
Are you telling me that the Aquino era is a failure? Because it failed to address these issues? And solve our problems?
Rampant prostitution is in our country, because of the bad economic conditions, as a result of Aquino Regime bad governance…same as the brain drain issue…
If I write my blog, it is up to people , if they are swayed or not. This is an open market of ideas…it is not my fault, if they see the truth in what I write…
How did you teach your infant child to walk? Let him/her walk…he/she may get bruises here and there, some bumps….at least she/he learned how to walk…
Your mentality is a defeatist YellowTard mentality…
How can I be a yellowtard if I’m against Aquino admin? Anyway, the late Cory is where the country really went downhill. We were very prosperous during the Marcos era. Apparently some jerk wads who just couldn’t be disciplined enough to just stay at home during curfew hours and started complaining when they were arrested when martial law came out. Also, communism was growing at the time so Marcos had to deal with it fast, hence declaration of Martial Law. UP campuses were rumoured to have hosted those assemblies for communist sympathizers. I’m pretty convinced about this, considering how many people who lived during the time can attest to it. Even my parents said they were okay if you behaved and stayed at home.
What I said about prostitution is valid, those women should get a better life.
It was during Cory Aquino when oligarchies started to form. Everybody just keeps forgetting about the Mendiola Bridge Massacre. So much for Cory being a democracy icon. What a joke. This looks more like what someone with Communistic tendencies would do.
Speaking of communism, the current President signed the anti-cybercrime bill which criminalizes libel.
In summary, both Aquino admins are failures, it started and failed to stop these issues. To be fair the admins in between these two also are failures.
“Rampant prostitution is in our country, because of the bad economic conditions, as a result of Aquino Regime bad governance…same as the brain drain issue…”
One of the dumbest comments I have ever read here. There was never prostitution on a grand scale here before the current admin? or Brain drain before the current administration? LOL WTF? What world do you live in? Prostitution has been rampant here for decades and continues to get worse EVERY YEAR because EVERY administration since Marcos’s departure has failed to deliver. I’m not a pro Marcos person at all but he did understand that to remain in power the masses had to feel some degree of progress. It wasn’t the masses that really threw him out either!
The “game”, even at the most basic level, has been rigged for quite some time to favor the moneyed; just look at the idiotic BSP (controlled by guess who) that accepts an inflation rate of 5%, which based on their bullshit basket of goods, is really nowhere near the real increase in the cost of living.
Add to that the rampant growth in the population including of course the female population and guess what, prostitution rates and brain drain will continue to grow and reigning in the rates of growth are/will be IMPOSSIBLE.
Get used to it.
@Hyden, how quickly you filipino’s do forget. The amount of help the USA has extended to the filippines during typhoons/floods/earthquakes is astonishing. if the greedy scubags at the top of the filippine gov’t. would only stop stealing the aid and all esle that is not nailed to the floor, the country might stand a chance at progressing, BUT….
you sound like an ingrate.Next time Manila is under water try calling China first! RING RING,”Hello China, this is the filippines.Could you help us out over here,were flooded?”…
…”LOL!” Click! “Hello.hello is anybody there? Hello”…LOL!
@Big Black:
Yes, I didn’t forget….I did not forget how they imposed on us the Laurel-Langley Agreement…to steal our: gold, cooper, and other natural resources…
My late father was one of the “Battling Bastards of Bataan”…” no mama-san, no papa-san…no uncle sam”…much more the thousand ship convoy that our soldiers believed in the battle. So that they will fight to death for Uncle Sam…
Too many YellowTards here to defend Uncle Sam…
“Battling bastards of bataan” were not all Filipinos so shut the fuck up. Your quote is also from an American not a Filipino you fucktard
Hyden Toro, well China already owns most of your economy and it looks like the very wealthy and very poor mirror China,(It sounds like your blessed with money) so why don’t you and those Chinese funded protestors make the Philippines a part of China and get over with already. Your double standards on sexual relations between young men (any race) and women verge on racism but then again double standards are what your all about. Many of the men that date or meet girls as prostitutes end up married and living in the US but those tricycle, jeepeny playboys get some and then return to the wife, never marry or ditch the wife and move in with new girl, apparently you don’t see this, you could be completely blind or insane, unsure.
@Mcalleyboy:
The issue here is not me…or China…Whatever we do with China is our own bussiness…not yours…so mind your own business…
Whatever people do with their lives; is their choices…don’t divert the issue here…
You want your Bases back? Do you?
Makes no difference to me if China takes over and you will never see American bases here ever again, back in 1991 I was told by senior military we were tired of paying the 77 million US dollars to lease out the base and the number was climbing, we weren’t kicked out as the media claims, we got tired of being thrashed for cash and the icing on the cake was the Mt Pinatubo mess. I noticed you didn’t address your local Philippine playboy issues but focus on foreigners.
At what point should the US and the American people be concerned? If Chinese belligerence leads to overtures to occupy Singapore and Australia, based on some fabricated historical account, perhaps? Or if they decide to claim the continental US because the Chinese admiral and explorer Zheng He may have reached America?
“You want your Bases back? Do you?”
I’m not an American, but do want the Americans to have their bases back. REASON bcoz China is likely to fuck your ass with no condom and start something serious. I feel more assured, that with the Americans back, China is less likely to do something stupid, and my son is thus not likely to lose his life in a senseless regional/global conflict. Swallow your stupid national pride. And BTW, based on your comments overall, I do think you don’t think.
@Hawkeye:
You idiot…you didn’t know that if the American Bases were not in the Philippines. Japan would not had attack the Philippines? Look at Thailand…Japan did not attack Thailand in World II…no foreign bases in their country…shut up…ignorant asshole…
Hyden Toro,
Please refrain from using profanity and name calling as your immediate response to anyone who even appears to disagree with you. This childish behaviour is becoming very tiresome.
Also — don’t lie or fabricate evidence just to win an argument.
—
Some corrections to the misinformation regarding Thailand and Japan in World War II:
The Empire of Japan invaded Thailand (Siam) and Malaya from their bases in Indochina on 8 December 1941 (the same day they bombed Pearl Harbour). The Thai army engaged the Japanese forces for several hours before the Thai PM ordered all resistance to cease; bowing to the inevitable, Thailand salvaged what it could, and concluded an agreement by which it maintained its sovereignty at the cost of unrestricted Japanese movement and access to facilities. On 21 December 1941, Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret protocol wherein Tokyo agreed to help Thailand regain territories lost to the British and French. Subsequently, Thailand declared war on the United States and the United Kingdom on 25 January 1942 and undertook to ‘assist’ Japan in its war against the Allies.
Contrary to the previous assertion that it was not invaded, the Thais, neutral at the outbreak of the Second World War, initially resisted Japan’s belligerence and eventually fought alongside the Japanese when they judged that the Western powers could not help them overcome Japanese aggression.
The USA is the only friend that the Philippines has, that matters. The USA is always there for the country when the disasters strike, so why would people NOT want them there?
It might be different if the Philippines was not corrupt and spent its peso’s on strengthening the country..but it all get sstolen so what are you going to do, bite the hand that literally feeds you?
Fiipino’s are their own worst enemy.
While militants waste precious saliva(it’s a hot summer) screaming out their delusional frustrations against the US, Filipino soldiers and US troops are busy rebuilding infrastructure in regions affected by recent disasters. It is clear what the people will choose.
By the way, these same militant groups are blurting out this US toxic waste issue again. Is this true or is it just another myth?
@WR:
Another YellowTard with colonial mentality…you called people “militants”; because they love their country and want the best for their people…
Our forefathers (katipunan) who fought against the American invaders; were called “insurrectos”. If fighting for dignity and self respect is being called “militant”…then, so be it…
Anyway, Aquino sold us already to the Americans; the same way his grandfather, Benigno Aquino I, sold us to the Japanese militarist invaders…
Define your version of dignity and self respect? Is it when walking in the “cross walks” you can get killed or driving down the highway and the bus, jeepeny or brand new SUV is in his passing lane which also happens to be your lane and a head could occur…is this a form of respect for others, cutting in line in front of another a form of dignity…how much respect is required to satisfy you, isn’t it a two way street or is it all one way for you, I’m thinking your real one way.
Calm Down HT, just because some of us have a favorable view of the US doesn’t mean that we’re suddenly pro Noytard. It’s okay to have disagreements sometimes but there is no need to lash out at everyone.
@Hyden Toro if you are for the country then why aren’t you voicing out about the Chinese Illegal Black Sand Mining operation operating all over the country and destroying the environment? That illegal Black Sand Mining operation is killing the environment, shouldn’t you be concerned about that too?
Only the US? How about the the rest of the Anglosphere like Australia and the UK? I guess they’re too busy taking care of their own within the Commonwealth huh?
@Bjorn:
We don’t want help or aid in exchange for our dignity and self-respect…if they help, there must be “no strings” attached…
Otherwise, they can keep their help/aid…we keep our dignity and self-respect…
Whose fault the if Philippines is corrupt and in a mess? You voted for these incompetent and self serving leaders…then, you run to Uncle Sam for help?
U filo mutts have a short memory of who guards your country and does the heavy lifting when you have natural disasters..
Don’t talk crap about being able to stand on your own feet when you depend upon us for your very survival, and don’t bite the hand that protects and feeds you.
You lot should be grateful for our continued presence in your third world dump, I ain’t dog to say we are your masters but we definite are your superiors, so know your place.
Having said that, God bless America and the Filos, at least your country isn’t dumb enough to side with China.
No, the Philippines won’t be kowtowing to China the way you imply. But the US president certainly has. He’s been acquiescing to Chinese belligerence by refusing to assert US influence in Asia since the start of his administration. Is it any wonder that from the moment Obama assumed office, the Chinese have stepped up their campaign to unilaterally control the waters south to Palawan? They correctly assessed that the Obama administration would be more concerned with domestic policy and the two wars the US has been prosecuting since 2001.
Obama’s State Department has often repeated that the US considers China to be a ‘partner’ in maintaining regional security. And now Obama has added that he would prefer it if disputes in the region are worked out through dialogue. This is tantamount to saying he will not send troops. That message is certain to be interpreted by Beijing as a license to behave even more aggressively, short of having an occupying force march into Manila or Tokyo.
Filipinos will certainly remember that President Obama came to Manila not to reinforce security ties but to deliver the same load of double-talk that now threatens to leave Eastern Europe open to Russian aggression.
—
Americans have certainly proved their superiority at being duplicitous, backstabbing sonsofbitches.
Interestingly for someone who has pretensions to superiority, one would imagine that ‘Jeff’ might have better command of his own language. At least something more than elementary level.
One way relationships, so much like my in-laws and if you don’t like it you can hit the road…lol or it’s my way or the highway. You can gauge how people feel about one another not in person but on the road ways, watched a video the other night of a huge truck pushing a car sideways down the road for blocks he claims he didn’t see the car but the car was making it very difficult to keep the truck in a straight line.
@ SAint, there you go thinking you know what the Obamma admin is doing or thinking. and guess what? You have no clue! The U.S. Corporations are the only Corporations onearth with deep-sea drilling capabilities. China wants that oil in the shoals but can not extract it, DUH!!!!!!
Also the U.S. Corporations have ‘outsourced’ every single job they can from the West to China. Chinese ‘Elites’ have been made wealthy like this.
So you see, numb-one, the two exist to seek profit wherever they find it. Any ‘differences’ the two may ‘seem’ to have is just to keep up defense contract spending in the West.
Get it now? The Philippines could have defended itself but its politico’s squandered all the peso’s so now the whole country is fucked….too bad for filipino’s.
if it were up to me, you would not have gotten any help to begin with. Let the country protect itself, care for its own natural disasters.
and BTW, I did not vote for a single Filipino or USA politician, not one! It is impossible for me to do so….and I ain’t gettin married.
I’m an American and I don’t agree with you. Philippines should be left alone. The USA will be made a scapegoat again. Filipinos have to walk their own path to be able to pull it together.
Pardon me, but you would prefer that the United States renege on its treaty obligations because you’re worried about what the rest of the World might say about you? I’m sorry but that is a rather juvenile attitude.
For the most part the rest of the world has a favourable view of the American people. And a high regard for the ideals that America has come to represent. The United States is still the benchmark for freedom and democracy that oppressed peoples aspire to. There is also a high level of respect for the US military and its fighting men and women. The Philippines owes the US a debt of gratitude for its efforts in delivering humanitarian aid during times of distress and for helping to secure the country.
That being said, considering the way President Obama and his State Department have conducted US foreign policy over the last five years, one has to question whether the United States is willing to follow through on its commitments. From pulling out of US missile defense agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic to his inaction during the Arab Spring to backtracking on Syria’s ‘red line’ and now volunteering an ‘off ramp’ to Russia under the delusion that Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine is a disaster from which they need saving — Obama’s foreign policy appears to the rest of the World to be an attempt not only to disengage the US from its allies but also an effort to divorce the US from logic and reality.
The Obama administration has favoured aggressors more than the victims, somehow reasoning out that defending oneself is ‘provocation’ that could escalate the situation into more violence. Hence the offering of military rations(!) to the Ukrainian Prime Minister in response to his request for military assistance. And now in Southeast Asia, Obama pledges renewed security ties while declaring China a US ‘partner.’ How does one expect US allies to interpret the policies of the Obama administration? Should we expect no more than stale MREs from US military transports if China decides to occupy all the disputed islands in the Spratlys? Or the immediate retreat to Guam for fear of ‘escalating’ a war started by a US ‘security partner?’
If you are concerned about being branded a scapegoat, get your leaders to stop making public pronouncements they have no intention of fulfilling. The only thing that does is to make the US appear indecisive and cowardly. If not, it will only harm Americans, probably get them killed. That was certainly the case for Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya.
‘its in-action during the arab spring’,OMG!
You are sooo clue-less I will not even try to correct you.You may have a bearing on what is happening in your own country…BUT YOU are Internationally clueless.
You do not even know why Khadaffy’s dead, do ya?
The last comment was @ Saint.
and I had to stop reading his comment, its too funny.
Saint doesn’t even know what happened in Libya Or Benghazi, forget Eygypt…but he sure thinks he does! This is too funny, my stomach hurts. No wonder the Philippines is so fucked!
Holy Shit, it is almost un-believable that these ‘insights’, as incorrect as they are, are espoused in the Philippines as some sort of truth.Invest in some new glasses or at least get a clue,IDK Saint, just incredibly moronic.
Bjorn,
I would respond but you haven’t really posed any alternative insights to my analysis. The only thing you offered is an exhibition of willful ignorance and stupidity peppered by personal attacks. You couldn’t even explain why you believe the analysis is ‘wrong.’ That demonstrates your intellectual bankruptcy and a tendency to believe in ludicrous conspiracy theories rather than any capacity to contribute to the discussion.
Incidentally, the Philippines is fucked — along with the rest of America’s Asian allies, for that matter — if America persists in the mind bending illogic exhibited by Bjorn.
NO, the death of American Ambassador Chris Stevens isn’t amusing at all. It is deplorable that the United States would allow itself to be attacked in that manner. It is reprehensible that the American leadership would cover up the events to gain political points in an election year. Then again, seeing the puerile shallowness of Bjorn, it isn’t surprising that America’s enemies openly display an undisguised disdain for the US and its people.
@SAINT, IF you can tell anyone/yourself why Moammarr Khaddafy is dead, why his country was invaded and Why he was hunted down like a dog and murdered…THEN, and only then will I even bother to explain some it to you! You talk as if you are an international statesman, well informed…but your assertions are incorrect. I was being gentle when I referred to your comments as moronic,AND YOU TOOK THE BAIT (Thank you for being so predictable) you being a typical flip, take the bait and run with it.LOL!
FACE it, you may know what is going on in your own country, and even that could be debatable, BUT your view of the USA, why it does what it does and just about everything else you’ve said makes it appear as if you live in a fantasy, DREAM ON.
and BTW,Atilla did not say he was scared of what people would say,he did not say it. You see what you want to see, and need a stronger RX pair of reading glasses…and again, I am being gentle.
@Saint, U R SO WRONG, I’m not even an American,U jackass!(LOL,puerile, find a dictionary did you?)
Khadaffy’s execution was ordered because he tried to sell oil on the International market,FOR GOLD, instead of the sacred ‘petro-dollar’. and you know you did not know that,did you? UH-HUH?(‘UM,UH, WHICH WAY IS UP?’ says Johnnny.)
You are a waste of time to even try to enlighten/educate.Your know-it-all attitude and popping off at the mouth about things you do not have the slightest understanding of is laughable.
You actually think Barrack Obamma runs the USA?
or think you really know what happened at that Embassy in Benghazi? DO YOU? BWAH HA HA HA! You are surely as fuckin clueless as your country is fucked.Try stickig to things you understand, like watching rice grow.I’d explain it to you but you do not deserve an education since your such an arrogant know-it-all, wikipedia warrior.
PPPFFF… just laughing at you!
Bjorn… Quadfi was killed by his own people, there’s footage of this on YouTube.
‘That certainly was the case for Ambassador Chris Stevens’, as if you have a clue!
Statements like that make you appear like the retard you no doubt are.
Gentle? The unequivocal truth is that you cannot refute any of the analysis regarding the White House position on China and Southeast Asia.
You persist in dropping cryptic references to some nebulous thread running through the events in North Africa as if that has some profound revelation. Typical dissimulation by the chronically stupid and wilfully ignorant who rely solely on ludicrous conspiracy theories and baldfaced lies to fill the vacuum between their ears.
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For some reason you seem to be fixated on Muammar Qaddafi. Let’s be clear. He wasn’t a good guy. He was corrupt. He brutally repressed his people. He is described as having presided over a ‘kleptocracy’ in which the government — either the Gaddafi family itself or its close political allies — has a direct stake in anything worth buying, selling or owning. He used profits from his country’s oil sales to sponsor terrorist groups whose primary target is the United States and her allies. He was beaten to death and shot in the head after the fall of Tripoli to a broad opposition force — from doctors and lawyers to farmers and soldiers to foreign mercenaries and Islamist extremists allied with Al Qaeda. End of story.
The United States did not take the lead in the matter. It reluctantly signed on to the ‘no-fly zone’ in March 2011 AFTER its hand was forced by the French and Russians. This wouldn’t stop the Qaddafi regime’s attacks; they weren’t coming from the air. Instead, the UN military intervention became a preamble to escalation. This is NOT by any stretch of the imagination an ‘invasion.’
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What is troubling is the fact (apart from its abdication as a world leader) that the United States apparently allowed the entrance of weapons through the UN blockade which ended up with anti-Qaddafi forces in Libya. These weapons eventually found their way to Islamic militants allied with Al Qaeda. And these were the same groups who would later murder American Ambassador Chris Stevens in 2012, in Benghazi.
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Apart from demonstrating President Obama’s poor leadership and lack of interest in foreign affairs, none of Bjorn’s bloviating about Qaddafi has a direct bearing on the situation with China, which was the main topic of this current discussion thread.
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BTW, what Atilla said was that he did not appreciate America again becoming the ‘scapegoat’ in the dispute involving China. Do you even know what that means? It means one becomes a target of irrational blame, hostility and/or disgust. Which is expressed primarily BY PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOU. If you had an ounce of ability to do critical thinking, you might be able to comprehend very simple sentences.
Again the most persistent conspiracy theory about the Libyan civil war rears its head. Something which can neither be proved nor disproved; conjecture that relies on largely on secondhand information and hearsay.
Conspiracy theories are despicable things. They are the refuge of the weak-minded (i.e. Bjorn). Reality is bad enough; there is no need to fabricate explanations of the world using fantasy and delusion. No matter how well the pieces fit. The facts should suffice.
The facts are that an oppressive, decadent sectarian security regime was afflicted by social and political decay and was eroding from within. This made the possibility of a coup or revolution inevitable. It is a natural result. The inability of the revolutionaries to see the revolution through is a result of the larger issue of disunity among the Libyan people and interference of external forces, such as Islamic extremists. Hurting the cause further, US President Barack Obama was not enthusiastic about taking the lead to diffuse the issue, choosing instead to defer to Russia and France.
The intellectually bankrupt and wilfully ignorant (i.e. Bjorn) hold on to conspiracy theories whenever there’s something they cannot settle or understand. This is because conspiracy theories are a comfortable pillow on which those who want to justify their incompetence can sleep. The excuse that events are beyond their control allows them not to deal with reality.
I am not saying there is no merit to some conspiracy theories, but most of them are an exploitation of emerging circumstances, not an objective record of events. And quite obviously the simplest way of dealing with such theories is to prove or disprove them with documented FACTS. Something which Bjorn has been unable to do, aside from the odd cryptic insinuation that he knows more than he is saying. Quite the opposite of the 2012 murder of Chris Stevens in Benghazi. A tragedy that IS well documented but which Bjorn dismisses.
Let’s point out again that Bjorn’s continuing fixation on Qadaffi STILL has no direct impact on the issue of Chinese belligerence in Southeast Asia or the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement which is the topic of this discussion thread.
Bjorn sounds like a conspiracy theorist, I wonder what his comment is on the Japanese occupation here and how they brutalized Philippines citizens and babies, was that a conspiracy? and Hyden Toro, both have forgot or have never been exposed to prior Philippine history lessons and that could be very dangerous if history repeats itself… why wait for something to happen to the Philippines, the warnings are already out there the leadership is taking the correct approach a 10 year agreement with the US and no bases involved this could be a mutual agreement and in that 10 year span the Philippines will build up their arsenal of aircraft and weapons, it doesn’t happen overnight but taking over a country that has no fighter aircraft and no destroyers and air craft carriers can happen overnight. Wonder if Hyden Toro is prepared for the brutality of war, Japanese threw babies in the air and bayoneted them on the way down, could this happen again… is she prepared for this sort event and willing to fight it out with China and no allies backing up the Philippines? waiting for diplomacy to work, trying to gain self respect, dignity, oh my gosh all I can say is she sounds just like the Extremist Liberals in America, same ones that brought us “gun free zones”.
I said nothing of conspiracy theories, you again see what you want to see.
The Western Corporations run the world.Barack Obamma is a ‘flacK catcher’,when shit goes wrong he takes the ‘flack’,get it? He runs nothing but his mouth.
I am well aware of who did the final dirty work on Khadday as well.His ouster was choreographed, just like most other things happening in the world today.The reason why his country was invaded was already stated. What was Stevens doing in Benghazi?instead of Tripoli? what was in the basement that can never be publicly spoken about? SHH,SHHHHHHHHHH…U arrogant fuck, Saint you know what you think you now.Hang on to your “Obamma’s pathetic leadership” outlook,it suits your idiocies well.
SAINT, you arrogance is only surpassed by your ignorance.I still alugh at you as well. Think what you like,I said nothing of conspiracies. The OLD ‘he is crazy’ routine to dismiss what you can never see/understand,HUH?
The NWO is on the march, it is camped out in the Philippines and it doesn’t matter what any Filipino’s say or do about it.Russia is next,after Ukraine…or is that more allegedly ‘PATHETIC’ ‘failed’ world leadership by Obamma? HA,SAINT you clueless douchbag.Things do not always go as planned,but the Wolfowitz doctrine is real, working and on the move.The Philippines WILL play its paltry role,just as they are told to do…and GRP will be complaining about their failed state country for another 50 yrs..
I am astounded that the shallowness of your comprehension reveals even greater breadth than was previously established.
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NO ONE said that YOU were claiming your assertions to be part of some vast conspiracy theory. Why would you? You believe them to be gospel truth. Anyone reading your posts will attest to that. I and at least one other commentator characterised your postings to be the rantings of a conspiracy theorist. All of which could be cleared up if you were to provide proof of your claims. As in any normal discussion. That you cannot provide even a single link to any evidence that will bolster your ‘masters of the world’ claim, preferring instead to mock those who have contrary views, only shows that this diatribe of yours is nothing more than demagoguery. Not for any serious consideration; just noise to keep readers from focusing on the facts. Perhaps that is the real purpose of ‘Bjorn’ — subterfuge by the ‘masters of the world.’ The only arrogance here is Bjorn’s.
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And now you have the unmitigated gall to imply some malevolent ulterior motives for Ambassador Chris Stevens’ presence in Benghazi on 11 September 2012?! If anyone needs evidence that ‘Bjorn’ is fucked up, this certainly qualifies.
Do you even know what an ambassador does? Because it seems apparent from your latest irresponsible rant that you have MISSED THE POINT ENTIRELY with regards to Chris Stevens’ career. Diplomats do not work effectively from behind embassy walls or safe houses. The foreign service sends people all over the planet to gather information and represent American interests and, more importantly, TO MAKE FRIENDS. And that is what and idealist like Ambassador Stevens was doing in Benghazi. Meeting, talking, and mingling with the people who would inherit Libya in the aftermath of the civil war.
Chris Stevens was not responsible for the lawlessness or the intermittent violence in Libya throughout that summer. He was not responsible for the reduction in security personnel that made his trip riskier. His requests for additional security were denied or ignored. Officials at the State and Defense Departments in Washington made the decisions that resulted in reduced security. Chris Stevens was in Benghazi because he was doing EXACTLY what America asked him to do: Try to hold Libya together.
And now this insolent poltroon ‘Bjorn’ has the impudence to besmirch him? It is unconscionable!
BTW, conspiracy theories aside, ‘Bjorn’ still has not mentioned anything about the Chinese claims on the Spratlys or the EDCA, and/or the US response, which is still the subject of this discussion thread. Still no explanation as to why ‘Bjorn’ prefers to deviate from the topic (aside from the chronic stupidity and ignorance).
@SAINT, No one,including ‘MOI’ has besmirched the dead ambassador.Asking you to ask yourself a question, is not a besmichment of anyone. You see what you want to see.”Tryng to hold the country together”,is what you said? YES? With less than 10 embassy personel in the compound? OH YEAH?
You are beyond retarded.
The Spratlys were carved up a long time ago,who gets what has been decided.You can be sure that apart from a few crooked Filipino politicians that the avg. Filipino will not benefit one iota from what is under the sea bed in the ‘allegedly’ contested waters.Being,most likely, an avg. Filipino,with an inflated opinion of herself,THAT MEANS YOU! Yes, suffice to say, the spoils of the sea shall not come your way.
I alomst feel sorry for you.Your arrogance prohibits it.
You have established nothing but what an idiot and a ‘believe what you hear in the media/wikipedia’ thinking moron you are.A typical flip who accusses others of what he is himself guilty of.
Moammar Khaddafy is dead because he conspired to sell his, and several other African nations oil, for GOLD.Believe it or not, A good flying fart I don’t give. What was going on in Bengahzi will not be explained to you because you are too stupid to understand it, you arrogant flip. I’d teach you a lesson,I would.
Good luck in your poverty stinking mess of a country. I actually tried to enlighten your dumbass. But your blinded by your arrognace and know-it-all anyway,HUH? Just like Barrack Obamma runs the USA, LOL!!!And you call others a ‘Fliptard’,HA!
The laughing you hear is directed at you.
Well said. Obama is a pathetic and spineless leader and America cant wait for him to go!
Education? Ludicrous!
Still regurgitating the same anti-intellectual tripe. Still forcing the same fake laughter. Still haven’t come up with an explanation that is probable or any proof that is credible. Still desperate to sell conjecture and rumour as fact. Still pretending some mysterious cabal of world rulers manages your life. Must be nice not to bother with the tedium of living if your life is predetermined by forces beyond your control. Ignorant and lazy to boot.
Still trying to demean a hero whose motivations you couldn’t begin to fathom. Stop fouling the memory of the dead guy.
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Amazingly, ‘Bjorn’ makes some attempt to discuss the Spratlys. Unfortunately it’s the same anti-intellectual nonsense he’s been trying to pawn off without qualification.
Anyone who has been following the events in southeast Asia will realise NO ONE is benefiting from the Spratlys. No one has even been able to determine definitively the extent of the oil and gas deposits in the area. Mainly because of the threat of a shooting war due to territorial disputes. A situation that’s been exacerbated by the United States distancing itself from the region for the past decade owing to its focus on the Middle East. The lack of a counterbalance to China has emboldened Beijing to establish dominance in the South China Sea, correctly assessing the Obama administration’s lowered priority for its Asian allies — Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. That’s where we stand now. Unless the Obama administration insists on using ‘discussions’ to settle disputes. While the US pursues ‘negotiations,’ the Chinese will have occupied territory all the way to Palawan and started extracting natural gas.
HA,LMAO @ YOU SAINT, You are the one, “FLIPTARD”, whose life is determined by forces beyond your control.
YOU ARE THE ONE WHOSE COUNTRY CAN NOT DEFEND ITSELF and must seek others HELP whenever mother nature sneezes in your countries direction.YOU are the one who lives in that poverty stricken shit-hole mess of a country, not me.
You can’t hang with me,dipshit! Anywhere on the planet.HA! You can’t even get out f your own country.and yet you act ‘as if’ my life is dictated by others.FLIP IT,FLIP IT GOOD! LMAO AT YOU!
its like this,you sorry ass douchbag…YOU are the one whose life is determined by others.You may act ‘as if’, but you cant act your way out of reality (or immigration for that FACT!).
Dignifying your comment about ‘the dead guy’ as you now refer to Mr.Stevens, is beneath me.
and FINALLY (before I leave you to your poverty stricken delusional douchbag life), if you think a country that has been made wealthy by the Western Corporations is going to turn around and even dare to bite the hand that has fed it, your an even bigger retard than I ever imagined.All of your wikipedia Warrior and ABS/CBS info and maybe even ‘FOX’ news has rotted your brain into extinction.The ‘ASIA PIVOT’ is about as real as the ‘GWOT'(Global War On Terror) or ‘THE WAR ON DRUGS’.
You are truly a fuckin idiot beyond help.A true ass backward thinking Filipino shithead.Pontificating about that which you are clueless about…and then…
‘Enligten us, help us to see, John-Boy’, says the blind Filipino to the clueless one.AAAHHH,UUUHHHH,DUUUHHH.
the deletions have begun, the last one was a zinger too! Too bad.
SAINT, forget about buying that clue, buy a roadmap instead and ,if you can read it, find your way back to reality.YOU are the one who cant leave your own country.and You are the one whose life is dictated by others!
As usual, ‘Bjorn’ still has nothing more than racist bombast and foul language to pollute the comments section. The increased number of pejoratives clearly indicates a desperation to mask the paucity of any original thought or critical thinking aside from the conspiracy theory ‘Bjorn’ clings to.
@Johnnny Saint:
If they respect me,and not use profanity…then, I will refrain from using profanity…we must respect each other…
@Jeff:
If you leave us alone…we will not starve…
why are you here , anyway? What is your business here? To teach us?
No…you want again your bases back…because you want to make more corrupt our politicians…
@HT, its the Philippine politicians that want the $$$$$.
@Bjorn:
The ‘bugaws” also want their business back…their prostitutes missed their former patrons…
Your focused on the sex industry but what you don’t know is that all almost all those girls that worked in Subic, Angeles wanted marriage and without a shadow of a doubt many, many girls were married and now reside in the US and other countries, I seen it first hand. What you don’t seem to get is your own contrymen and how they treat women here, they date these bar girls and there’s no such thing as a better life it’s a part time life with the girl and no long lasting benefits and no way to prosecute or make the playboy pay up if he has no money, well about 70% of the men can not afford a second family.
Oh yes Toro, like your politicians could be any more corrupt.
@Mcalleyboy:
You speak English, and you cannot even understand/define self-respect and dignity?
Another imported YellowTard professing to be wise…
Whats happened from 1991-2014? such a huge gap, fill in the blanks and you have your answer or if the sun doesn’t come up it’s the US fault, do you know how to take on any personal responsibility? Define self respect and dignity- to much pride and self respect for others.
I have to say that this party list representatives are just a waste of the peoples taxes. As they say…narrow streets breed narrow minds.
Its all elementary. The EDCA is there not only for us Filipinos but for the security of the whole region. As it is you think we can defend our nation against country that is for so many years treated us like we don’t exist. The audacity to take over our territory and they claim that it is theirs because of a law they created entitles 3 or nine dot line.
They need to know that they may have a big military force that’s not battle tested unseasoned in actual combat, its not the size, its the quality.
I say Welcome back boys!
The EDCA document:
http://www.gov.ph/2014/04/29/document-enhanced-defense-cooperation-agreement/
Read Article XI and even a non lawyer would understand it.
I was curious why the lefties hate US so much and I’ve found the answers here:
http://www.philippinerevolution.net/documents/maikling-kurso-sa-lipunan-at-rebolusyong-pilipino
With exception to those sincere patriots, those blabbermouths against the American military presence in the Philippines are most probably financed by Filipino politicians.
They shout slogans against the Americans but they worship whatever products made in the USA. Despicable hypocrites!
Filipino politicians’ and government officials’ mindset could never enhance the country’s military capabilities because they’re so scared to spend even for school buildings. They prefer to pocket the amount budgeted rather than spend it for the designed purpose.
Someone who understand!!! Outstanding “eachisown”, just outstanding. Maybe you could enlighten some of these guys?
eachhisown:
Filipino politicians were talking about “military modernization”; since I was in the Elementary School. And I was wearing short pants, then…now , I’m married, with a 3-year-old daughter (and wearing long pants); they are still talking about “military modernization”…
I think, they talk about it yearly to make budget for their Pork Barrels; and pocket the money…This include: Aquino, Binay, the Senators,the Congressmen, high government officials…that Budget Chief, and the high ranking Generals…
I wish we Filipinos could stand up independently as a nation using our own feet, but again maybe we are just helpless.
We’ve seen how sub-par the government and the citizens dealt with the Yolanda Crisis, how much more can we handle a war in modern times?
Nah, we’re all fine crying to Uncle Sam whenever we get a boo-boo or get picked on by the bigger kids.
/sarcasm
Hmm, EDCA, EDCA, EDCA… sounds familiar? Oh wait.. now I got it. Wonder who created the name…
Still, I’m not against on the presence of American Forces in our country. They are a huge help on the tension on our waters. We previously have modern bases in our country. Strategically placed bases but not it became a museum and a golf courses for the elites. If the American were not ousted out of the Philippines before, we would have modern equipment for our own military, rather than salvaging scraps left out by the Americans. My Grandfather told me that when the Great Saint and Mother of the current President. The Americans brought all military equipment with them, and did not turn it to our country, instead they have dumped it in the ocean hundreds of miles from our shoreline. It was originally to be turned over to our own Military but because of the Mother of the so called democracy broke the agreement. They have considered to trash it instead. It was washed on our shores and we were like beggars salvaging what is left.
@Kenneth:
Saint Cory Aquino failed to deliver the renewal of the bases agreement for the “kano”…his mentally retarded son, Benigno Aquino III is now a Puppet of the Americans…this YellowTard cannot decide for himself. He has to depend on people around him to render decisions…
We are recipients of American military hardwares, destined for the scrap yards.
We request the Americans now to leave us alone…it is the only way…our leaders will mature, and become responsible…we will build our own military defenses…anyway, we have “mutual defense treaty”…is this treaty binding?
Our leaders are not the one who needs to mature, but the people who put them there the first place.
If we allow the Americans to leave us alone, China will have no problem invading our soil. How can we depend our country against such a super power, If we only have ship guarding our waters which is similar to those ships that are burned down and used as props in movies. Our military hardware are comparable to those vehicles used in 90’s action movies where they are used as props in explosions and collision.
China will not invade…the U.S. owes China billions of dollars, and is its primary trading and business partner.
Don’t give me that fear tactic…they cannot even invade the small island of Formosa (Taiwan)…how can they try their luck on the Philippines…
Vietnam beat the Chinese in the China-Vietnamese conflict, after the end of the American Vietnam war…now both nations are at peace…have some balls, dude?
China can “invade” and already has, “Panatag”.
And as recent events have showed, Economic sanctions by the US can simply be shrugged off if you hold enough foreign debt against them “US, Russia and Crimea”. Also consider how vulnerable the financial system of US is against threats by Russia or China, that they cannot do anything worth a . to change the status quo in Syria and Crimea
Also Taiwan housed several US bases in its history. And Vietnam never won a war with China, not on its cities nor its shoals. Unless of course if you consider a foreign nation sitting in front of your cities and wrecking your dining room a victory. Simply put, the Soviets, Vietnamese couldnt commit a full scale war against China, and that was what 30 years ago, way before their economic rise.
Either way, It doesnt really matter. The Chinese or the Americans can get in line after Binay if they want to . the Philippines next.
Americans were gone from the Philippines for 25 years and your leaders have become even more corrupt. Don’t blame America for what the Philippine government has become.
The “scrap” you refer to is equipment your military has purchased on its own; if it is scrap and worthless again blame your leaders.
Lastly let the Americans leave. I hope you learn Chinese because the PLA will be invading soon.
China invaded ‘panatag shoal”…so, we run to hide in the skirt of Uncle Sam…sounds like Aquino during the Luneta Hostage Crisis…Aquino was nowhere to be seen…he dived in his hole…
One way or another China will take over the Philippines. It will not be done by force of invasion but by influence. The Philippines will slowly loose it’s European and American character and will be replaced by Chinese. I also believe this will benefit the Filipino psyche. E.G. They will be relieved of the inferiority complex that is triggered by whites.
Philippines government leaders and politicians are not immature. They are fully matured in the sense that they can arrogantly and brazenly shameless in making the financial and natural resources of this country run dry so quickly.
Since over thirty years ago the military i.e. police and army offices are devoid of any updated facilities like computers and even office telephones.
Even if the Americans have left all their latest hardware and equipment it will never make any difference to the country. Because the parasites in the government will surely make all those DISAPPEAR anyway.
please remember what happened to mutual defense treaty and balikatan exercises. it’s not just the military that’s affected but the society and culture as well. when will we stop being little brown americans?
colonialism made us lose our identity and love for the country which is why things like the pork barrel scam and Ampatuan massacre happen.
Greed made those things happen. Blaming others for a persons lack of character is pathetic. It is a Philippine problem created by Filipinos.
Remember that the threat facing the country not only lies in the West Philippines Sea, but also enemies from within, inside the country and inside the corridors of powers working as chinese lobbyist advancing China’s interest.