waauw wrote:mrswdk wrote:That would be true... if there was a war between China and the Philippines. But there is not, and will not be.
Which is an issue several asia-pacific nations genuinely fear for.
They need to put down the crack pipe.
waauw wrote:mrswdk wrote:They want to have a free and open discussion without other parties butting in to distort talks. If the matter at hand is the Scarborough Shoal, why should Indonesia, America or anyone else be involved? The Scarborough Shoal is an issue for China and the Philippines to settle between themselves.
You know full well it's about more than merely Scarborough Shoal. The entire South-China sea is disputed. Imagine the Philippines and China do get to an agreement? What value would that have? Very little as six different countries demand souvereignity over the Spratly islands for instance. This is why multilateral negotiations are needed. Bilateral negotiations are useless. Unfortunately China has repeatedly refused any such negotiations, only willing to deal with ASEAN countries seperately. China doesn't even want to cooperate on negotiating a global charter for disputed seas within the UN.
Well yeah, there are a variety of different disputes in the region. I was merely using the Scarborough Shoal as an example of one, and the Scarborough Shoal is only disputed by China and the Philippines (as far as I'm aware).
waauw wrote:mrswdk wrote:China's investment in its military is growing at a proportional rate to the growth of its GDP in general. I don't see what reason there is for anyone else in the region to start wailing and tearing out their hair.
Of course you don't see a reason. You didn't even notice there was an arms race going on.
You're going to have to provide better evidence of a Chinese 'arms race' than a rising military budget. Generally when a country's economy grows rapidly, this has the knock-on effect of causing all the government budgets to grow rapidly as well.
waauw wrote:mrswdk wrote:Ha. Ha. So the reason countries like the Philippines are looking for American help is in case of some kind of Chinese invasion? Purlease.
And yet multiple nations fear as such. There is a reason more than one country fears chinese aggressiveness. Even US-hating country Vietnam is now seeking closer relations with the US due to China.
See earlier. Multiple countries need to take a reality check.