Duterte has my full support for 2 general reasons - Victor Corpus ( The South China Sea Inside Story

Ever wonder why the Chinese really made those artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea.

Prior to former Ferdinand Marcos, there was no Kalayaan group of islands to speak of- in other words it was free for all.

Only at the time Captain Tomas Cloma discovered the area and him ceding all his rights to that fins to the Republic of the Philippines, that Marcos decided to send our marines there to set up a military detachment/base that will safeguard our rights to discovering those islands.

(photo credit to owner)

We were not alone who did that, other countries in the Association of South East Asian (ASEAN) region did the same and also sent their own military to exercise their rights to those island they have also occupied.

So the Noynoy Aquino presidency came in, all the b*llsh*t happen, we suddenly woke up one morning we lost Scraborough shoal and the massive artificial islands are now being build.

We went to the Permanent Court of Arbitration-we won, China’s nine-dash line is nothing but an imagination, yet the artificial islands are already militarized. Its defenses are more than 50x modern than all the Armed Forces of the Philippines can put together.

President Duterte comes in and instead of trying to slap China with the arbitral ruling he extends his hand of friendship- War has not escalated. And now some quarters are blaming Duterte for losing the territories in the West Philippine Sea- which is really idiotic to begin with.

Victor Corpuz gave a very insightful and fresh view on how we should look into the situation that happen, what was really the intention of China in occupying those ‘rocks and making theme artificial islands.

For the full quote of Victor Corpuz article please see below

THE SOUTH CHINA SEA INSIDE STORY

”There is a news item in certain tabloids that former Vice Mayor Pulong Duterte included me in the list of those who are behind the ouster plot against the President. This is utterly false. I maintain high respects for the President. For the first time in Philippine history, we have adopted an independent foreign policy that is relatively free from US manipulation and dictation. It takes courage to do this because other foreign leaders have been forcibly overthrown or killed for doing what PRRD had done.

I also fully agree to PRRD's approach in resolving our sea dispute with China; which is the win-win approach. Some former influential government officials like former DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario and SC Justice Antonio Carpio advocated a win-lose strategy; that we won our case in the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague that declared the nine-dash line of China illegal; and that we should drive out the Chinese from those artificial islands they have constructed with the help of the US military. This would have led to a major war if PRRD had not adapted an independent foreign policy. This is because China is prepared to go to war, even a nuclear one, with the US or anybody who would try to drive them out of those artificial islands in the South China Sea.

Said islands meant survival or extinction of the Chinese nation itself. China needs those islands to prevent any adversary from blockading the Malacca Strait and other nearby straits in the area. The US and Australia have been conducting biennial naval exercises dubbed "Talisman Saber" since 2005 rehearsing how they would blockade the Malacca Strait where China's oil imports from the Middle East and Africa and China's traded goods pass through. A naval blockade of this critical choke point will force China's economy to grind to a halt.

Another reason why China occupied the Scarborough Shoal in the disputed waters is because of the Manila Trench passing nearby. This is the only deep portion in the whole of South China Sea that is deep enough for nuclear submarines to approach China's east coast undetected for a "first strike". Four Ohio Class submarines sneaking in through this Manila Trench and conducting a first nuclear strike can drive the Chinese nation and civilization to extinction within hours, if not minutes!

For these two reasons, China is prepared to go to war if need be because it is a question of survival. And the Philippines will be swept away if we stand on the way! or serve as willing tools of a waning superpower who is struggling to prevent its eventual decline.

So, instead of fighting a war that we cannot win (and that the US itself cannot win because of geographical disadvantage); why don't we engage in a WIN-WIN negotiation instead. In negotiation, there is such a thing as "ENLARGING THE PIE". We can enlarge the pie by negotiating with China to assist RP in reviving the ancient Galleon Trade route that brought silk, porcelain, silver and other goods from Guangzhou to Manila where galleon ships brought said goods to Acapulco, Mexico then on the Seville of Spain. From Mexico and Panama, high speed rail can be built across South and North America. The Port in Cagayan inside CEZA in northern Philippines can be modernized with China's assistance to serve as a maritime hub and gateway for the whole of ASEAN and China to North and South America. The port in Tawi-Tawi can also be modernized to serve as gateway for ASEAN and China to Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).

This will be a big win for China because the Belt and Road Initiative or BRI will now cover six continents instead of three. The whole of ASEAN will also win big because of the increase in trade infrastructure and trade opportunities spanning six continents. But the Philippines will be the biggest beneficiary of them all because it will be at the epicenter of a planetary-scale economic development that will literally circle the globe. All these can only be possible with a Philippine President under Rodrigo R. Duterte. The alternative is WAR; and nobody wins.

I support PRRD for another reason - his determined war on drugs. When I was Chief of ISAFP, we tried to warn the public on the creeping danger of narco-politics. Our system is such that economic power begets political power. There is big money in drugs. So drug lords can easily chose their own candidates and make them win using drug money. But at that time, we did not have the strong hand needed to weed out the fast spreading drug problem. Until it grew to what it is today. Only President Duterte had the gall to run after and truly eliminate this plague in Philippine society.

So Mr. President, I salute you! May you succeed for the rest of your stint as the leader of our nation.”

— Victor N. Corpus

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