The Philippines should make China squirm
Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
Many Filipinos worry about AFP’s weakness when thinking about China’s abusive and intrusive behaviors in the West Philippine Sea (the Philippines’ lawful EEZ west of the mainland). Former President Duterte said the Philippines could not win a war with China and he did not want to see Filipinos die in battle.
What a woeful, weak, defeatist position to take.
Well, one can guess that it was in support of his corrupt crony transactions in China (like Pharmally), and not a legitimate State policy.
In previously writing about defense (“A Philippine Defense Plan“), I noted that defense required five elements:
- Flexibility
- Speed
- Power
- Deception
- Decentralization
These elements can be a part of peacetime strategies as well, the main goal of which might be “to make China squirm”. By squirm, I mean impose costs on China for her abusive behaviors.
The main method for doing that now is overt, pro-active transparency, or showing the world how abusive and unlawful China’s acts in the West Philippine Sea are.
It works. China squirms and her propaganda outlets compound the problem by spewing childish nonsense and lies. China looks the idiot.
Bringing in powerful land-to-sea missiles also upset China. China claimed this was “destabilizing” to which Secretary Teodoro and President Marcos bluntly responded that China could get rid of the missiles easily by simply respecting Philippine rights in the West Philippine Sea. China is the destabilizing force. Absolutely brilliant. Made China squirm.
Bring in more weapons, and be loud about it.
Loudly throwing out Chinese spies could help in this effort. I think the Philippines has not used this as effectively as it could to tie it into China’s role as the abuser. More noise needs to be made (President Marcos should address it often). Make China squirm.
Do China’s merchant marine ships ever sail alone into Philippine seas? Man, stop one and board her for inspection. See if they are carrying smuggled goods or treating seamen decently. Use the sovereign power of the Philippines proactively.
China will squawk and wail. Good! That’s what we want. That is squirming. It gives a loud platform for the Philippines to make a point. China is the one breaking laws.
Start inspecting China’s mines and corporations here. Closely. Often. Be loud about it, and penalize the companies for offenses. Do to China what she does to the Philippines. Be intrusive.
Figure out other ways to make China squirm.
Do you have ideas that can help? Let us know.
_________________________
Cover photo from USANAS Foundation paper entitled “The Philippine’s strategic alliance against China”.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
I wonder, are POGO operations out of the country now Joeam? I read that those DDS bloggers making and reporting fake news have attended seminars in China funded by the latter. Shameful acts. China does not respect our sovereignty.
The POGO operations came to the Philippines because China banned them. So their operation is more of the crony gangster acts that Duterte ran, not a Chinese government operation. Banning them does not make China squirm, I think. Most have left. A few apparently non-criminal companies are properly licensed to operate. There are still some sizable illegal POGOs but they are being closed and thrown out.
I wish we have the courage that the vietnamese have, banning chinese toys and movies that slyly portray the chinese nine dash lines, with china’s goal is probly to make people less sensitive and to get people used to seeing the nine dash lines here, there, and everywhere, and for people to become tolerant of the lines. the more tolerant of the lines the people are, the less they question the existence of the lines and eventually, accept them!
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2983365/vietnam-pulls-dolls-over-south-china-sea-map
we may squirm at vietnam’s banning choices, but I give credit to their forever vigilance and very mindful of the creeping chinese menace. philippines is not so vigilance and sometimes is caught sleeping!
Viet Nam is the lifeguard. The Philippines is the guy snoozing under the tree at the edge of the beach. I forgot the name of the tree, big leaves, almond like nut pods.
I hope that when the time comes for philippines to buy chinese toys that blatantly display the nine dash lines anywhere on the surface of the toy, we will follow vietnam’s lead and also ban the sale of such toys no matter how mightily filipinos kids howl and screamed at their parents to get them those toys.
I’m partly guessing, Joe. Philippine plant with umbrella-like leaves are anahaw plants; Almond-like fruits/nuts – betel nut plant; Juan Tamad iconic Filipino stereotype – (Manuel Conde playing Juan Tamad flat on his back, waiting for the guava fruit to drop, by itself, onto Juan’s open mouth. 🙂 images so vivid from my pre-teen years
That could be it. Or Talisai? Gorgeous shady trees with lots of seeds. We have guava trees in our yard, and calimansi, and a couple of other kinds of native fruits. The guava trees grow like weeds. The jack fruit tree got blown down in a storm.
Could it be a Talisay tree?
Ah, different spelling than I had, but, yes, that is it. Large flat leaves, long branches extending out. Very popular beach trees for shade.
From a TikTok excerpted feed, relatively currrent:
Apologies if this is already common knowledge. 🙂
Why China’s Man-Made Military Islands Are a Disaster | Watch
I’d wondered about the stability of islands scraped from the seas. Seems stressed. Thanks for the info. I do think one of President Marcos’ strengths is foreign relations. He imposes on none and welcomes the company of all.
I too wonder about that, Joe. I have listened casually to a couple of PBBM’s interviews & I realized he may not have what his father was known for (photographic memory) but he does have the charm & intelligence of lady Imelda; I also suggest that he picked up a lot of the accoutrements of Marcos legacy such as they are: a vantage point of EDSA, his Oxford days, etc. This too I’m juxtaposing with my perception of PNOY.
PS: I recall Fr Donelan SJ, Rector & president of Ateneo was more than occasional guest at Malacanang. Fr Donelan graduated from Oxford, I believe.
Yes, he for sure has his life, which we cannot understand. He was 32 when the family was shipped to Hawaii. He’d have an adult’s recollection of things. And his mother is still living, and his wife is intelligent and presumably forceful. So his balancing act is among forces we can’t know, including his executive secretary and other advisers. He did not get along with his original exec sec, as I recollect, as I think maybe he was a schemer. But the President’s public presence is good.
The Viets have more naval vessels, some with guided missiles, some others are submarines. Technically they have more experience with conventional and guerilla warfare, so they can afford to challenge the Mainlanders at their own game.
It’s only the current level of readiness and expertise that makes me wonder if they can possibly bring the Chinese to at least a standstill, as massive economic growth and thus bigger salaries and affordable foodstuffs contribute to more affluent lifestyle changes… which could possibly make them lose some of the prowess they’re known for.
Many Filipinos are too busy trying to deal so much with domestic issues, or even trying to put food on the table.
that’s why we have dept of defense, national maritime security council, national security, the coast guard, the armed forces, national police, and also an elected government whose job is to govern and ensure our sovereignty is protected, our border enforced, etc. armed and uniformed personnel are mostly career professionals unlike elected officials who can be celebrities and high school graduates. and we should not confuse them with ordinary private citizens and lay persons who go about their daily duties of putting food on the table, and also paying taxes to fund the government activities of enforcing law and order and protecting its citizens. the onus is for them to be on the front line to defend and protect citizens from the line of fire.
ordinary private citizens and lay persons should not be shackled with the heavy burden of protecting and defending our country, they do not have the training and the know how, and not privy to state intel information. and they are also already wearily burdened with the hassle and bustle of life’s daily grind. and should not therefore be blamed for any lapses in our national security.
For South Korea and Vietnam, a thousand years of Han Chinese oppression and imperialism informs much of the national security stance of those two countries. While I caution using modern terms like “genocide” to define the relationship, both Korean and Vietnamese people experienced countless attempts by the Han Chinese of domination and genocide. What is happening in Tibet, Xinjiang, and within PRC-proper with non-Han peoples especially in Southern and Southeast China inform us that this attempt at genocide is still happening today with varying degrees of success. The Philippines should exercise caution as if the leadership tendencies towards imperialism of a nation has not changed for 2,000 years, it is unlikely to change now.
For years some observers were perplexed as to why Vietnam after 1975 continued militarizing, dedicating a large portion of the GDP towards defense. Or observers misunderstand that South Korea’s continued militarization is in response to North Korea. The reality is the militaries of both countries are directly and indirectly maintaining armaments in response to the threat from China. The 1979 invasion of Vietnam by the PRC is mostly forgotten because the Chinese were driven back over the border so quickly, but the episode informs as much as North Korea being a PRC puppet state also informs. South Korea of course is supported by US armaments. Vietnam during the Cold War depended on the USSR for arms purchases, and now that Russia’s armaments have seemingly been proven to be shoddy in the war in Ukraine, there are murmurs that Vietnam may try to cultivate a relationship with the US to buy US armaments.
I would also add that Koreans and Vietnamese are more unified nationally, especially in terms of patriotism and national identity (capitalism/democracy vs state-directed capitalism/communism has little to do with this identity). Throughout history, Chinese invasions were met by strong leaders to oppose, whether that was in the form of kings who were capable military commanders, minor nobility who rose up to the task, women leaders, or even an organic and organized peasant movement. I’m not sure if that would apply to the Philippines.
I won’t discount the issues each Filipino community and family deals with, such as putting food on the table. Most of my interactions in the Philippines and friends are among the poorest Filipinos. These are huge issues that need to be addressed. What I find starkly missing in the Philippines is a broad sense of patriotism. Patriotism seems to be a requirement in order to maintain vigilance and readiness, while improving one’s own defense.
we should not only point the finger at china for having the gumption to fund fake news seminars, but also at our stupid kababayans who are so willing to betray our country for a few measly yuans and a vacation in china. and if our stupid kababayans continue to receive those measly yuans and vacations in exchange for dastardly deeds done and constant fake news publication all to discredit our nation, I hope they drowned in their yuans and got eaten by chinese panda.
Some are operating in hidden places, but most have relocated elsewhere there is less policing, and as far as I know, Cambodia and Laos are the last bastion for those criminal groups, now that they are losing Myanmar as Thailand turns up the heat across the border.
That most of the POGOs are not sponsored by the Chinese government; the two are enemies of each other but nonetheless and under Durterte they have wrought havoc upon our country.
Filipinos are the best fighters in the world. We will wreck them like Ukraine is wrecking Russia. War with the Philippines will be the end of China.
best fighters in the world should look after their own backyard first, and help fight misinformation and disinformation. filipinos both civilians and politicians who are big chinese sympathizers are spreading falsehood that causes us to be desensitized, our nation divided, our security compromised. the enemy is within and much proliferating. and now that local and regional election is coming, those top senatorial bets should be scrutinized well, and not aided and abated, specially those who put their love of friends above love of country.
the fight is here in our country and is yet to be won. and what the best fighters in the world can do is support and ensure there is fair and equitable election.
There for sure are a lot of guns here.
These are the things I came up with before.
https://joeam.com/2024/03/16/34704/
Our Securities and Insecurities: A Multifaceted Examination of the Philippines
The Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago nation, grapples with a complex web of interconnected “securities” and “insecurities.” This paper explores how the Philippines strives for food security, human security, national security, and maritime security. By examining these interwoven realities, we gain a deeper understanding of the nation’s challenges and ongoing efforts towards stability and progress.
https://maritimereview.ph/south-china-sea-disputes-a-zero-sum-undertaking/
Conflicting island and Maritime claims are the subject matters for the South China Sea (SCS) territorial disputes. The sovereign states involved are some ASEAN nations; outside ASEAN would be Taiwan and China.
An estimated 3.37 Trillion worth of global trade passes though SCS annually which accounts for a third of the global maritime trade 80mpercent of China’s energy imports and 39.5s% of China’s total trade passes through the SCS.
The disputes involve both maritime boundaries and islands. There are several disputes, each of which involves a different collection of countries:….
Lastly this.
https://joeam.com/2024/10/24/all-about-philippine-development/
So what if we have bad ideas, then let others come up with better ideas and suggestions.
Now for my present set of ideas, I asked chatgpt for some roadmaps for our agencies that incorporate Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environment Social and Governance (ESG) principles.
To create a more comprehensive and integrated development plan for the Philippines that includes the national security policies, key government roadmaps, and the alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, I suggest filling in the missing areas with proposals that emphasize collaboration, modernization, sustainability, and inclusivity. Here is a breakdown by sector and department:
1. National Security Policy Integration
2. Department Roadmaps
There is no question that China has tentacles in every nation of asia and dominates the seas. And she is brutal. The Philippines nabbed five spies setting up cameras to video a naval base in Palawan. So China nabbed two (or three?) Filipino students and called them spies. My advice is to start severing ties with China and getting Filipinos out. China has declared soft war and any ties will be used to blackmail the Philippines. Look at products sourced and sold there and find replacement markets.
Then let there be Pinoy James Bonds, mr and Mrs Smiths and spy kids if need be since there are definitely Chinese spies all over the world.
The show Incognito gives us a clue that we do have real life pinoy expendibles and I am sure we do.
I wish the Philippines were more aggressive in spying, purchasing, and manufacturing. And pressuring Chinese activities in the Philippines to get them to speak upriver to Chinese authorities.
Maybe there is this behind the scenes fellow like what Trillanes did in backchanelling.
Now that my dad is gone, I remember he did some power broking or two in his time.
Ah, I’m sorry to hear about your father moving on. We very much enjoyed meeting him and I’m glad he accompanied you that day. JoeJr was in awe. Sigh. RIP.
I hope there is more going on than what we see, as it should be.
Leah N sent me a message calling my father the mensch. She must be part German.
Ha, could be.
I’m sorry to hear this, Neph. Over the time we have exchanged thru a strong channel here at TSOH, I have looked up to USec Garcia as one of my real-life uncles and secretly wished I had spoken to him to strengthen common bonds, viz our common ties coming from the PH Navy. Please accept my deep condolences on his passing.
Many thanks Uncle.
You’re welcome, Neph; He will be in my prayers
Vietnam was mentioned.
Here is a comparison by Boo Chanco.
We might still have the edge in services and command of English, but until when?
https://www.philstar.com/business/2025/02/12/2420870/kaya-natin-parang-hindi
There are now a lot of articles on the internet about how investors are looking at ASEAN for manufacturing, fleeing China to escape the Trump tariffs. Unfortunately, the Philippines is hardly mentioned. They are excited about Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia. Indonesia is starting to spark interest. But it looks like the Philippines will once again be the wall flower as our neighbors and investors have a ball.
Sorry, Sec. Ralph Recto but your exuberance about the potential contribution of CREATE MORE seems to be unjustified.
The articles which mention the Philippines point out governance issues and high labor costs as significant negatives to investors. No surprise. It’s also the bad reputation for red tape and corruption that scares investors away.
The favorite in ASEAN is Vietnam. It is good and bad for Vietnam because all the foreign investments pouring in are straining their existing infrastructure. Yes, they are building new infrastructure fast, faster than us, but still not fast enough.
The other negative is that Vietnam is doing so well exporting to the United States that it had a trade surplus of $123 billion last year. It is among the top countries with trade surpluses to include China, Mexico and Canada.
For Zakaria, manufacturing is out Services is in.
https://fareedzakaria.com/columns/2025/3/21/trumps-manufacturing-dream-is-a-mirage
To accelerate build-out of manufacturing, there needs to be a concerted effort of government to facilitate licenses and perhaps targeted tariffs combined with subsidies for companies that can fulfill their end of the bargain. Trump is terrible at many things, but one thing he’s very good at is that he’s a master of branding. Branding wizardry works best for applications that rely on emotional connection. Branding doesn’t work so well when something is physical that people can see and touch, like the broken promises of the Foxconn plant from Trump 1.0.
Biden’s two signature laws (CHIPS and IRA) set the US on a path to manufacturing dominance in areas of high technology while rebuilding the transportation infrastructure to support trade. Trump has indicated he wants to dismantle or at least slow-walk large portions of CHIPS and IRA. This hurts his own supporters in states that voted for him the most, as Biden had directed most of the CHIPS and IRA funds to those states. All Trump had to do was take credit for Biden’s accomplishments and play golf for four years. Kurt von Hammerstein’s famous observation comes to mind:
“I divide my officers into four classes as follows: the clever, the industrious, the lazy, and the stupid. Each officer always possesses two of these qualities. Those who are clever and industrious I appoint to the General Staff. Use can under certain circumstances be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy qualifies for the highest leadership posts. He has the requisite and the mental clarity for difficult decisions. But whoever is stupid and industrious must be got rid of, for he is too dangerous.”
https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780191826719.001.0001/q-oro-ed4-00012327
Well, some lessons here for the Philippines are that the Philippines government needs to have a strategy and plan to attract industry and to foster fledgling efforts once those industries put down roots. Ad hoc approaches are like waiting for mana to fall from heaven, and Filipinos would sooner figuratively starve than have a single morsel fall upon their heads.
They change made in China to Made in Vietnm?
htps://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/made-vietnam-or-backdoor-chinese-exports
Transshipment and origin remarking is a problem, but this mostly affects commodities closer to the raw goods such as processed aluminum and steel products which China has been dumping on the international markets for the last couple of years. China was trying to dump steel through Malaysia and Indonesia a few years back if I recall. Important to recognize that when we see certain goods being dumped by China, such as solar panels, steel, aluminum, shoddy electronics made at “black factories,” and now, electric cars, this dumping behavior is because the jobs that the products support are in fact a jobs program in order to maintain societal discontent below a certain point.
Very cheap durable goods may have origins remarked a well, but those are harder to hide. Mostly such cheap durable goods are on the “TEMU” level of quality, and get sold directly to consumers through trade loopholes such as de minimis exceptions for import duties.
Very valuable input from you as always.
As a cost cutting measure since we are running out of time we need a bunch of these.
Naval mines.
In peace time make our waters an obstacle course so it willl really be in war time.
Down side: with everyone forwarned for safety’s sake come war time the enemies would know where to sweep them mines.
Kamikaze boats, drones, unmanned subs.
Cheaper than huge sub,ships and missiless
Mines make me cringe. They have an afterlife and inability to discern innocents. Drones should be top priority, air and sea.
Yes so no more ideas about mines.
mines are probly necessary evils at war and are still being used in ukraine by both combatants. I just wish some brainy people will make mines with use by dates, that as soon as mines reach their use by dates, they become useless.
these days people make IED, improvised explosive devices, like what the israelis did with hamas pagers. the knowledge can be useful.
Thanks for that any explosive can turn anyone or anything to speghetti or powder that best before idea is excellent.
I am not an expert on military, diplomacy or geopolitical relations, but some things can inform an engaged observer.
1.) Part of the Han Chinese national consciousness puts image and respect on a high position of importance. Of course the PRC wants to look like the good guy, which is why I’ve observed that some of the strongest PRC “wolf warrior” push-backs are when it comes to “others making China look bad.” So make the PRC look bad when it is appropriate and watch how fast the PRC scrambles to provide a counter-narrative of lies and half-truths.
2.) Buy less Chinese goods while at the same time cultivate domestic industry by attracting the (mostly Taiwanese) companies leaving the PRC. It’s amazing that Filipino leaders don’t get this. Taiwan being a co-threatened country, is a natural ally and partner. Why do companies not go into the Philippines to build factories while companies are rushing into Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia? The suitable business supports and facilitation of business is not strong in the Philippines, while misguided protectionist policies that are protecting a non-existent native industry creates huge blocking points.
3.) Focus defense spending on “lower tech” but incredibly effective weapons like cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and rocket artillery. Many of these missiles and rockets are light enough compared to artillery that the weapon systems can be bolted onto smaller naval craft. Invest in cheap on-way air and sea drones and semi-attritable drones; Taiwan and Ukraine can help a lot here, and the Philippines should’ve started talking with the Ukrainian defense industry 3 years ago.
4.) The PRC learned from Russia “buzzing” ships and aircraft. PLAAF and PLAN ships and aircraft regularly buzz PCG and PN ships and aircraft. How about the Philippines, despite having smaller aircraft, buzz the PLAAF and PLAN! A bully expects the victim to stay still while being punched, and when the victim even makes a feint back, the bully often will not know what to do.
5.) The unavoidable truth is the US is critical for defense purchases, as even many other countries use US technology in their exported military gear. As bad a taste as it may leave, it might be prudent for Marcos Jr. to stroke Trump’s ego a bit in order to gain benefits and discounts on purchases. Heck, “offer up” preferential access to the Philippines’ national resources “in the future” for “stuff now.” Most likely the Philippines would never have to actually give up anything once Trump is out of power, while getting defense stuff now. Should be checked with a constitutional attorney, but perhaps a way to get around the 60% local ownership law is to set up a special government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) for the benefit of the Philippines.
Terrific, terrific ordering of PROPER priorities, proper being to distinguish between these ideas and what is actually being done. On the last point, the Philippines should have a contingency path in the event the US is not there, and a contingency path if the US asks for more than is sovereignly suitable.
I would add that the PN and PMC need to be recapitalized, and soon. I notice that the sentiment among Filipinos and political leaders is “bigger is better,” despite never being able to afford it in the first place. I’m sure generals and admirals have other ideas, because they need to work with what they have, and it would be great if the Philippines focuses on buying heavily armed corvettes if possible. South Korea, Germany, Norway, and Finland make some of the best corvettes in the world that are armed through the teeth with vertical launch systems and cruise missiles despite the “pocket” size. In many instances these missile corvettes make more sense than multipurpose frigates used for sea-lane policing duty by larger nations. Germany and South Korea especially would probably be happy to sell those corvettes now, rather than the political class pining for larger, expensive ships like frigates thinking they can show how “great” the Philippines military is. Also the PMC and to some extent the PA can recapitalize towards rocket artillery like HIMARS or the Korean K239, both of which are NATO compatible. Medium range systems like Typhon should also be bought in adopting the porcupine strategy. For PAF, light fighters that can handle anti-ship missiles would be great, also for patrol duty. The sobering truth is that unlike Taiwan where the western approach across the Taiwan straight is a huge mountain range unsuitable for beach landings, the sea borders of the Philippines are rather porous, so more surveillance planes and drones would be great too. Perhaps get tycoons to come on board with investing in a GOCC oriented towards national defense to start building domestic military industrial capacity for lower tech weapons like rockets and missiles.
I suppose a contingency path for if the US is not available makes sense, but this would only probably work if domestic production is started in the Philippines. I doubt the Europeans have the manufacturing capacity to become the arsenal of democracy at this instance. This is where a single country of many states (US) has certain advantages over a loose supranational entity of independent states like the EU. It may be likely that the Europeans would be willing to sell technology transfers though, especially the French who have a wholly indigenous technology base in contrast to Germany, Italy and UK. But in the meantime it probably won’t hurt to stroke Trump’s ego a bit and give Trump a “win on paper” in order to get favorable deals.
Yes, that “big syndrome” is harmful, drawing funds away from arms that could be meaningfully lethal. The mindset should be that of a rebel hiding in the hills. Strike quick and hard. Use small weapons to destroy big ones. Don’t show off by buying big items that will go down in the first hour of fighting.
Europe is a more trustworthy partner if they can get their defensive act together, which is iffy. They have used the US as their nuclear umbrella and now recognize that leaves them hugely vulnerable as Trump aligns with Putin. So they have huge cost and unity issues to overcome. But the Philippines is going to set up a VFA with France, so the thinking is right.
Europe is indeed going to have a challenging time, but France has its interests in the Pacific and some capability to project power, so there. I don’t think that Russia will nuke Europe as the French and British have a few nukes too, probably the division of labor will be that Germany takes care of the tanks. People who bought Rheinmetall (gunmaker for German Leopard tanks, which is THE tank that can match Russian tanks) stocks early enough will do well.
The “New Cold War” is now over there, not here in Europe anymore. As East Asia grows richer, the more there is potential for conflict, that has always been how history went. A Cold War without land borders is more volatile, with the border incidents at sea already happening.
Cold war without land barriers. Yes. An economic war, too.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1246635
PH becoming preferred hub of firms relocating from China – PEZA
Certainly this is a good start. I always read PNA with a grain of salt though. Even if the information reported is factual, often no context is provided as PNA is a government press release in effect. The stated investment is very low when converted into USD. I’d love to see the Philippines government pushing for deals like Indonesia that got a $1 billion USD investment from a single company, Apple. Or like India (where my new iPhone was made). If Vietnam and Thailand are seen as the Philippines’ natural competitor, Filipinos may be shocked to find out how much money exactly is being invested into those two countries… the Philippines government can and should push for better deals.
Just looked up iPhone market share in Philippines vs Indonesia to continue my example, and it is 15.96% vs 11% respectively. Apple is the biggest single brand of mobile phone sold in the Philippines with Samsung coming in second at 14.38%. I dare say there is room here for the Philippines government to both demand and facilitate local manufacturing of both Apple and Samsung products in the Philippines similar to what Indonesia did.
We are already copying Indonesia’s change of capital cities at least the intent is there.
We need not look further so to speak.
I did not know this. Thanks for sharing as that is indeed great news!
Actually he is reviving an idea that failed to push through since the Ramos Admin.
https://mb.com.ph/2025/2/12/new-philippine-capital-gov-t-eyes-construction-of-large-city-in-quezon-province-to-decongest-ncr
Quezon Province is huge and I presume they are talking the northern part, and a bigger scope than New Clark City. The first thing they should do is a rail line directly to the New Manila Airport, and dig a canal, haha. This seems a bit of pipedream to me.
Pipe Dream since the 90s
Excellent.
We just need to make our utilities cheaper to run and supply, notably electricity.
An interesting development is that Indonesia and Vietnam seem to be about to ratify their EEZ boundary agreement, and there also have been reports that they want to agree to cooperate militarily.
I did write 5 years ago that the Philippines and Vietnam as the neighbors on both sides on the sea with many names should try to come together as pragmatic allies.
The goal I wrote should be a kind of accord led by the stakeholders meaning all directly along that sea as well as those whose oil supply is involved like USA, Japan etc. similar to the accord governing the Bosporus but of course on a larger scale.
Suntok sa buwan, hitting the moon, of course.
In any case, the Philippines with its present ally USA coming new ally France should keep an eye on those neighbors – in a friendly way and also resbak-(support-)wise, just in case.
france has territories in the pacific such as the french polynesia, new caledonia and few islands herein. france also has strong military presence in its territories and wont give them up despite calls for decolonisation. the territories are apparently rich in nickel which is much needed commodity in todays technological world. if philippines starts to have vfa agreement with france, we can expect presence of french populace (kanaks) from the pacific to visit our country. hopefully the kanaks will not bring their trouble with them, noumea, the capital of new caledonia, did have riots kanaks vs french regarding citizenship rights.
The French will come with all kinds of soldiers as they are quite multiethnic. Anyhow the Pacific people under French rule are Austronesian like Filipinos. Kanak means human and is related to anak. French often like morenas. The painter Gauguin painted many on Tahiti..
Totally off topic, Irineo, but I know you follow TSOH stats. You will note a doubling of visitors and reads with the last article. I went back on Facebook which remains a vibrant home for discussions in the Philippines. Twitter is dying I think, as yellows and pinks fade out.
This is the main issue with Twitter post Musk takeover:
As we can see, the algorithm has been artificially skewed to favor boosting Musk’s engagements with right-wing and fascist voices contributing to the rest. Liberal and progressive accounts are completely drowned. I quit Twitter in November.
Also, FB remains the main way Filipinos get “online” via “FB Free” and “Messenger Free.” To drive viewership and engagement, a possible consideration is to look at which bundled “free” services are provided in common data loads. FB, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok are the usual “free” socmed apps.
Yes, for American users that’s true. Twitter remains prominent and balanced in the Philippines. It’s junked up with ads though. I don’t follow MAGA nutcases so my threads remain clean, excepting the occasional pro-China troll.
I’m not sure if Twitter under Musk is using different variations of the algorithm for different countries. The issue isn’t as much with the trolls, it is that seemingly accounts not boosted by the algorithm have much less visibility to be discovered in others’ feeds. Well, Bluesky is nice despite a lower user base as I subscribed to blocklists and don’t have to deal with MAGA and wannabe communists anymore. It probably will take a while for Bluesky to take hold in the Philippines. Most Filipino users I encountered so far are far leftists.
I have a presence in Bluesky, but it is really loudly progressive environment. I am given a front-road seat watching the collapse of the United States in real time.
I still have an account on Twitter, but rarely post anything other than personal hobbies and posts are private, so instead serving primarily as a newsfeed. That I try to steer clear of hyperpartisan garbage and of course that annoyingly self-aggrandizing tech fascist who wants to wake up and see only white people wearing Hugo Boss uniforms.
Well I can report that it’s not as bad here in the US as always online American partisans make it out to be. Yes, there are signs of an impending constitutional crisis but my take is that the Trump camp still wants to be perceived as legitimate which ends up being a big check. Ultimately it is the People who are the final check if the constitution is pushed aside, and now that White majority minority states are rising up once they felt pain, I doubt Trump and Musk will be ultimately successful. The biggest problem I foresee is that the corporatist wing of the Democratic Party is quite strong, too technocratic, well meaning but weak in action. However, they cannot ignore the rising base which is organically collecting.
My worry about France is that France never officially gave up her imperial ambitions. The French are still salty the US unsuccessfully strong-armed them into giving up possessions after WWII, most of which were later lost anyway. Perhaps French imperialism can be seen as spreading French culture, but I have always seen French attempts of cultural influence as much more aggressive than accusations of “American imperialism” — and I’m part French myself courtesy of both great-grandmothers. Quite different from German aggressiveness which has since mellowed out.
In any case, while the French military-industrial complex and French industry in general values a form of autarky, in Gaulism. The French are the remaining European power whose defense industries are still closely managed by the state, which may be the silver lining of why those industries survived (albeit barely) compared to the once vaunted British, German and Italian defense industries. I still see Macron’s moves as trying to drive defense spending towards French enterprises. Well, even in that pragmatism can thrive. If the French are willing to sell or transfer technology, I suppose that is good. Though the French did enable some of the current PLA advancements with critical technology transfers in turbine and aerospace technology despite American and British protests about 20 years ago.
Modern Vietnam and Indonesia’s predecessor nations had extensive trading relations. Both Đại Việt and Champa in today’s Vietnam were established kingdoms by the early first millennium, and had trade contacts with Sumatran Srivijaya and Javanese Majahapit by the Early Middle Ages when those kingdoms arose. The respect and recognizance has always been there of mutual martial prowess.
If historical claims based on national mythos alone matter, then probably countries like PRC have weak claims due to historical distance and the Philippines (which was not unified in the past) have somewhat weaker claims due to no historical national navy. But the point Vietnam and Indonesia is trying to make, it seems, is that in our modern world countries should abide by international agreements such as UNCLOS that defines the territorial sea and EEZ. Adherence to the rule of law benefits the smaller party while the rule of the jungle benefits the bully. It is a good thing that when I compared the attached map with individual claims, Vietnam and Indonesia seem to be splitting their claims right down the middle. A similar agreement between the Philippines and other overlapping claimants would probably be wise.
A unified front across the principal regional military powers of Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, along with the Philippines and Brunei would likely give the PRC pause. If the history of Han domination informs, the PRC seeks to divide targeted countries, possibly trying to install puppet governments. That’s what the Han did successfully to capture what is modern Southern and Southeastern China, is doing with Tibet and Xinjiang, and tried to do historically with Vietnam and Korea. The main method used by various Han imperial projects is the exercise of money and bribery to prop up subservient leaders, rather than outright military domination as one can read about countless attempts to invade Vietnam and Korea that failed. It is up to the leaders people choose to stand up to being dominated.