Cuter te is a ChiCom boot licker.
Should this issue be solved by the others we(or the others) divy up the islands.
The Phillippines is a corrupt basket case of a nation that can’t defeat internal rebellion, much less take on China. Duarte has a point. They have no fighter planes, no Naval assets of even destroyer size. 7 tanks, no submarines. Their air force is mostly helicopters. There isn’t much they can do about China.
The Philippines does have to “go to war”.
However, its defense can be more proactive and aggressive forcing China to resort to military force, which will create an international firestorm and international support for the Philippines. Multi-nation sanctions on China could force China to back down, provided the sanctions hit China’s economic plans hard enough.
Duterte is correct: they literally cannot afford to go to war with China. War requires two parties capable of mounting some sort of offensive or defensive combat. China sure has that, but there would be no second party stepping up to the fight.
It would take the Philippines about 20 years and 10 times their annual GDP to build up a military capable of engaging in what one might even generously call a “war” with China. And that is not economically feasible. So they literally cannot AFFORD to go to war with China, even if armed conflict were to break out.
File under, “Things to Not Say Out-loud.”
He’s quite correct the Philippine army and navy are not prepared to go to war against anybody.
But of course no one wants him to, and he has a powerful protector available in the United States.
Duterte unfortunately worships the communist Chinese, has thrown the doors open for them on numerous fronts, and has only been slightly restrained by his pro American generals.
Of course, the Philippines survived Japanese occupation until liberation by MacArthur. Duterte’s approach is cowardly and treasonous.
The Flips will be giving China access to Subic Bay and the former Clark AFB in 3...2...1..., if they don’t just give them to China outright.
Yet he renewed the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.
Under duress by his own Senate and the overwhelming sentiments of the people. Almost against his will.
This bodes well for the future of US forces making good use of the most strategic archipelago in the South China Sea. That would allow US forces to bottle China into a limited geography, and never allowing them to strike from behind.
And would ensure freedom of navigation for $5T annual commerce.