Shift the China burden to the US; take care of the Philippines . . . and look east

Posted by JoeAm on April 19, 2015 · 236 Comments 

The Society’s Chief Wildman, formerly known as Pinoy in Europe, drops off more insight in a day than most of us can do in a month. Well, I suppose it helps that he types 200 words per minute and his brain runs at 500. My keyboard is smokin’ at 50 WPM and my brain starts rattling and vibrating … Continue reading →

Category China, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

The elegance of China’s island strategy

Posted by JoeAm on April 11, 2015 · 185 Comments 

It was reported by US intelligence services that China is actively building Coast Guard ships. It is likely that these ships will be deployed to the reclaimed “islands” that formalize China’s “sovereign domestic territory” in the South China Sea. That territory includes contested outposts within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone. By using Coast Guard ships, China accomplishes … Continue reading →

Category China, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, USA/Americans

When military is undisciplined, failure follows

Posted by JoeAm on April 2, 2015 · 258 Comments 

There is always some risk when I overlay American ways on Filipino ways. For one thing, it is often okay for there to be two different ways. No problem. But I think in the matter of military discipline, the codes are universal. So I will overlay my own American experiences on what I observed during … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Foreign Affairs and Defense

Are anti-Aquino forces playing into the hands of China in the Mamasapano debacle?

Posted by JoeAm on March 24, 2015 · 286 Comments 

  By Yvonne Let me start by stating that I expected a public outcry on the Mamasapano debacle due to the unprecedented loss of lives among our PNP-SAF personnel who were on a mission to capture, or neutralize, high value terrorists. The chance to get three long-wanted, violent criminals in a single police operation was … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics

20 ways to demean the Senate

Posted by JoeAm on March 21, 2015 · 252 Comments 

Each of 20 senators who signed the “Poe Report on Mamasapano” is complicit in attempts to deceive Filipino citizens. They have taken the public’s trust, in the name of fact finding, and twisted it for opportunistic reasons. Here’s what they agreed to: That the primary responsibility for the 44 SAF deaths should be placed on … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government, Philippine Politics