Philippines Military and Politics

George1 wrote:WWII Forgotten? Philippines President Wants Japanese Troops in His Country

While comparing China to Nazi Germany earlier this week, the Philippine president is now seeking a military alliance with Japan, a former Axis power which occupied his nation 70 years ago.

"If somebody said stop to Hitler…would we have avoided World War II," Philippines President Benigno Aquino told an audience on Wednesday during his four-day tour of Japan. The hypothetical was meant to draw comparisons to Nazi Germany’s spread through Europe to China’s land reclamation projects in the South China Sea.

"I’m an amateur student of history…" Aquino said. So amateur, in fact, that he’s overlooked Japan’s role in the war.

In 1941, Imperial Japanese forces invaded the Philippines mere hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The occupation lasted for three years, during which time a number of war crimes were documented. The Manila massacre, one of the many atrocities conducted by the Japanese military throughout their occupied territories, resulted in the death of between 100,000 and 500,000 civilians.

Yet on Friday, Aquino indicated a desire to begin negotiations which would allow military cooperation between the two countries.

Under a visiting forces agreement, the cooperation would allow for refueling and other logistical support or Japanese forces in the region. This would fall in line with similar treaties between the Philippines, the United States, and Australia.

While the visiting forces agreement has not yet been finalized, Manila and Tokyo did sign a partnership agreement on Thursday, which will increase military cooperation and arms sales. As part of that deal, Japan will deliver 10 patrol ships to Philippine coast guard and assist in upgrading the country’s surveillance and defense technology.

The increased cooperation between Pacific allies is meant to address the growing influence of China in the region, something the United States has been staunchly against. Washington has called Beijing’s construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea a provocation, despite the fact that China has repeatedly asserted that it has every right to build within its own territory.

While China claims most of the South China Sea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, and Vietnam all have overlapping claims.

Under pressure from Washington, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is working to expand his military’s jurisdiction. While Japan’s constitution currently restricts troops to act only within its own territory, Abe has sought new legislation which would allow Tokyo to defend foreign allies.

That means that Japan could soon be monitoring the South China Sea, and using the Philippines as a base of operations.

Obviously the Japan of today is a far cry from the Japan of World War II. It has changed exponentially in the last 70 years, just as any nation has. But before Aquino begins tossing Nazi comparisons around, he should consider how that equivocation looks while actively seeking a partnership with Nazi Germany’s primary ally.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150606/1023006919.html#ixzz3cE8osJUx

magnumcromagnon wrote:
It's safe to say Aquino is a mental midget.

‘Time to say goodbye to US,’ Philippines’ Duterte proclaims on historic China visit

It’s “time to say goodbye” to the United States, said Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte on a visit to China, where he and President Xi Jinping are turning the recently-frosty tide with bilateral agreements, while Washington now gets the cold shoulder.

Duterte spoke to the press in Beijing on Wednesday, on the eve of talks with Xi. There was scant information about what was to come on Thursday, but Duterte’s conference coincided with talk of unprecedented agreements being written up – particularly the granting to the Philippines the use of Scarborough Shoal territories – a disputed resource-rich area in the South China Sea.

The firebrand Duterte has been slowly edging away from Washington after coming to power in late June. A series of spats and heated remarks finally resulted in his making good on the promise to mend ties with historic rival, China.

“Your stay in my country was for your own benefit. So time to say goodbye, my friend,” Duterte said, as members of the Filipino expat community in Beijing listened in the audience. He was of course referring to the military presence enjoyed by Washington at a number of Filipino bases – something he’s been particularly vocal against since September.

“No more American interference. No more American exercises. What for?” he told the audience.

“I will not go to America anymore. I will just be insulted there,” he added, before doing something no political analyst thought a world leader would ever do once, let alone twice: calling US President Barack Obama a “son of a whore” again.

US-Philippines relations have been in a death spiral ever since the Obama administration started voicing concern over Duterte’s tactics in dealing with drug crime. Manila didn’t like Washington’s stance one bit, and Duterte issued a series of fiery remarks warning Obama to stay out of it and stop dictating Philippines policy.

He’s been touting the economic and political benefits of a relationship with China ever since.

“What kept us from China was not our own making. I will charter a new course,” the Philippine leader said as quoted by the PhilStar.

The two countries are expected to sign over two dozen of agreements, including the above-mentioned South China Sea concession – a massive step for China, which was defiant in the face of a Hague court ruling in July, dictating that no one could be the sole claimant of the territories.

Infrastructure takes particular precedence for cash-strapped Manila. There is also energy and communications deals being worked out, including a $3 billion credit from the Bank of China, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, as cited by Bloomberg in Beijing.

“I will not ask but if they offer and if they’ll ask me, you need this aid? Of course, we are very poor,” Duterte confirmed. “You need this railway? Yes sir. And if you can give us a soft loan, give us something like 20 years to pay.”

This break from the US comes after 65 years of close partnership. Expanding US presence in Asia via the Philippines has been one of the pillars of Obama’s regional policy, along with keeping troops in Okinawa, Japan.

Duterte on Wednesday explained that the China partnership does not entail full military cooperation or indeed joint energy exploration in the South China Sea, where Beijing currently holds the majority stake.

The meeting between Duterte and Xi shouldn’t center so much on the territorial disputes there, Duterte said in the run-up to Thursday’s meeting. But if the Scarborough Shoal deal is anything to go by, China has just turned a former rival into a regional ally.

George1 wrote:Rally against Philippine president in Manila