Strategypage has a nice summary of Chinese aggression against the Philippines.
For China the South China Sea campaign is mainly about internal Chinese politics. China presents the South China Sea operation to Chinese as a necessary effort to regain control over lost (to Western imperialists) territory and secure China’s economic future. That’s a lie but so far China has sold it internally to Chinese eager to regain lost glory.
China realizes it cannot afford an actual war over the South China Sea, because that would most definitely disrupt Chinese foreign trade and risk permanent damage to China ...
While the South China Sea combat is non-lethal, the economic damage to other nations with legal claims to portions of the South China Sea is very real. As this shoving match escalates, other major trading nations, especially the United States, Japan and South Korea, as well as more distant industrialized nations, are lending military support. While everyone is under orders to not open fire (unless facing a lethal threat) the risk of the shoving match turning into a shooting match increases.
and then there is an ongoing cyberwar going on.
TimeOfIndia article from 2016 notes it was going on back then.
AustinBay notes: China is pushing 5G all over the world, and the one who controls the internet controls the world.
5G "next generation" wireless communication systems are an information battlespace. 5G has the ability to connect cellphones, the internet, the internet of things -- all digital devices, which could include controls on a hydroelectric dam (SCADA, in the lingo). What if a terrorist or a saboteur were to open the floodgates of a major dam in, say, Egypt, or, heaven forbid, California? If the saboteur were a Chinese agent, would this be an act of war waged by China? The dam scenario isn't hyperbolic. Western defense and intelligence services believe equipment and software provided by Huawei and other Chinese companies are potentially covert weapons. Attack example: The controlling power taps a keypad or activates an embedded "hidden trigger" and -- well, the Colonial Pipeline shipping gas to the U.S. southeast shuts down. Or Californians drown. China's shady tech can cause grievous economic damage and seed social disruption on a nationwide or even continental scale.
We have 5G antennas in our area (Kuya, worried about health problems related to 5G, refused to let them put one on our fields, but hey, lots of other folks need money so said yes).
Sigh
China's tactics are stealth and slow "Push, hold and stop and pretend that's all they want", and this is being done against VietNam, the Philippines, India, and Japan.
If you are a student of history, all this might sound familiar:
hmm... can you say: Sudetanland, children?
or sing along with Winnie the Pooh:
Of course, now that Biden appears to be a weakling, one simply assumes nothing will be done, unless Korea and Japan move in.
Duterte has been burned by China in many ways. He was suspicious of the US because "human rights" activists got GMA out of jail and went bonkers over the drug war (where a lot of the murders counted by them weren't drug war related: True: Some were from bad cops but a lot were crude justice by cops and some were pay back murders by victims who never got justice).
But how deep is the Chinese influence in the Philippine government? I have no idea. But remember the proverb: In the Philippines, bribes are taken over the table, under the table and with the table.
So when one reads of how someone in the DOH just never got around to signing off paper work so the Pfizer vaccine could be delivered in January, it does make one wonder.
Especially since hey, lots of lousy Chinese vaccine was being pushed.
One small problem: a lot of folks are refusing to get the Chinese vaccine, even when the gov't is bribing them with a gift of free rice, because they are waiting for the good vaccine.
from the Inquirer:
I should note that both our lawyer and Joy's father got the Chinese vaccine, because it was the only one available, while I waited for the western vaccine which only arrived last week in our town.
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Our granddaughter should be arriving in a week or two from the US: She has had the vaccine, but will probably have to stay in Quarantine in Manila for a week anyway.
Sigh.
in other news: Another day, another tropical storm causing rain and floods.
Actually this is good for the farmers, who will now be able to plow and prepare the fields for sowing.
as for our town: The traffic is a lot heavier in the last two weeks. So things might start opening up.
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