Another coup in the Philippines will not do any good in
relations with China. The Philippine Military is corrupted throughout
the ranks and the country is clearly a vassal state, beholden to the
USA. How Marcos Jr could still be elected despite the massive people's
revolt against his father, and the massive corruption and wealth stolen
by his family tells us a lot about the mentality of the Philippine
people. Very rich Pinoys that used to be adorned with favors and support
from Marcos Snr are behind all this, hoping to get favors from the
Marcos family's return to power.
Unlike his father, an army man,
Marcos Jr has no hold over the Philippine Military leaders, and he has
to do what the USA wants him to do, using the Philippine Military to put
pressure on him. Marcos Snr himself was no more than a stooge from a
'regime change' event, put in charge of the Philippines by the USA,
which is why he was able to hold on to power for so long, pandering to
the wishes of the USA and plundering the country.
The
Philippines is a hub for military coups, like in Thailand. At least in
Thailand there is the Thai King keeping an even hand over things, and
even the Military leaders have to listen to him to a certain extent. The
Philippine on the other hand is long like the wild West, with no real
leaders leading the country and no Sovereign hand holding it together.
Most leaders over the last couple of decades are corrupt and many are
inept.
Anonymous
The Philippines is fast becoming the 'Sick Man of ASEAN' without less and less foreign investments, particularly from Chinese investors. With a population of about 120 million and growing, jobs are needed. Of course, it can go back to rely on outsourcing its manpower and womanpower to other countries, working as sailors, maids and nurses. But will it help to develop its domestic industries for the long term?
ReplyDeleteChina is investing more in Cambodia and Laos, two staunch long-time supporters of China that are now opening up. China called them 'All Weather Partners', not 'Iron-Clad Partners' with iron chains attached, that are subject to be eroded by rust.
Vietnam and Thailand already reaped much of the benefits of Chinese investments for decades. All are part of the BRI including the Philippines. But China must avoid the Philippines at all costs. It is a clear vassal state of the USA, openly hostile towards China and a provocative tool being used by the USA towards China.
High speed rail projects are already on track among many ASEAN countries, with some already operational. The Philippines had been talking about HSR decades ago and implementation is still on hold. China was reported to be the 'best option' for HSR projects by the Philippines. There was a joint development with Chinese funding but derailed because of the South China Sea dispute. As it stands, HSR is not coming to the Philippines any time soon. With Duterte still in power, that could have been a totally different situation altogether.
On land, a good rail transportation system is the best bet for a country with wide ranging land mass to move forward and progress. It is the first thing that investors will look for. Movement of raw materials and finished goods depends on speed and timely schedules and is the pre-requisite for attracting investments.
As the rest of ASEAN moves forward with good transportation systems in place, they get first bite of the cherry as far as attracting investment is concerned. That will leave the Philippines languishing behind the others and becoming the 'Sick man of ASEAN'. Giving more military bases to the USA is not going to help. And the USA is not going to help either.
Duterte knows it is not good to antagonize or confront China. Mickey Mouse Marcos Jr thinks the USA is behind him and acting tough.
ReplyDeleteNo worry, sinkiesland is helping to create jobs for pinoy. Since both are poodle to usasse.
ReplyDelete