Perhaps it has more to do with the Philippines strategic geographic location threatening 40% or more of the world's trade passing through the South China Sea.
I think you have to elaborate to convince us
Perhaps it has more to do with the Philippines strategic geographic location threatening 40% or more of the world's trade passing through the South China Sea.
I think you have to elaborate to convince us
>> Perhaps it has more to do with the Philippines strategic geographic location threatening 40% or more of the world’s trade passing through the South China Sea.
>>I think you have to elaborate to convince us
Dutarte was elected on an anti drug platform and his solution to the drug problem is popular. This drug problem was born in the cargo bays of Air America, whose muling of China White from the Golden Triangle via our military bases in the Philippines is a matter of record to the point that a comedy film was made of it.
Dutarte, like most of the 3rd World has had it up to their necks with our CIA staged coups, assassinations, and puppet tin horn crypto-Nazi dictators. This is not about China’s sphere of influence or shipping choke points or geopolitics. It is about a 3rd World nation state throwing off the yoke of the American Empire, just like we originally did to the Brits. China is marginally a communist government, its capitalists are calling most of the shots any more. The Philippeans sees development loans from BRICS as far more attractive than the extortionary IMF and World Bank debt farming. These developing nations want to borrow money for their own infrastructure evolution, not for Utah Construction Co. to build rails and highways for the specific purpose of raw materials extraction for United Fruit or Cargil or Bunge or Continental or Dreyfus or Nestle’s. We made this bed, we damned well gonna sleep in it.
Of course its all location, location, location for the Chinese. If they get bases in the PI they can control East Asian trade and put the screws on everyone, including Japan and Korea.
The Phils is cursed - its indefensible without great power level resources, and its in a most inconvenient, strategic spot. A natural target.
The Japs, Koreans, and the US were stupid. They stinted on military aid for the last 15-20 years and this is their reward, the Chinese holding their trade routes.