The War With China Begins On January 1st
by James Dunnigan
December 25, 2012

The Philippine government is moving its new warships (retired American frigates and coast guard cutters) to offshore areas that China claims. That won’t be enough because China already has many more warships and it is building over 40 new coast guard and navy patrol ships and boats. Plus, China has a growing number of navy patrol and combat aircraft. The Philippines needs a major ally, like the United States, to provide enough naval muscle to keep the Chinese from enforcing their new rules that will, starting January 1st, have Chinese naval patrols escorting, or expelling, foreign ships from most of the South China Sea. This includes offshore areas of the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brunei, and Vietnam that international law does not recognize as Chinese. Happy New Year to you too.

China has also issued new passports, which have a new map of China showing the South China Sea as Chinese territory. The Philippines and Vietnam have refused to recognize this passport. Filipinos are also angry at how China has reneged on its agreement to withdraw its warships from Scarborough Shoal (which, according to international law, is Filipino). Both countries agreed to withdraw their warships from the shoal but three Chinese ships remain. The Chinese keep offering excuses of why the ships are still there and the ships show no sign of leaving.

The War With China Begins On January 1st by James DunniganDecember 25, 2012

The War With China Begins On January 1st
by James Dunnigan
December 25, 2012