Credit: Stephanie d'Otreppe/NPR
Philippines Pushes Back Against China -- Washington Post
MANILA — China’s most daring adversary in Southeast Asia is, by many measurements, ill-suited for a fight. The Philippines has a military budget 1/40th the size of Beijing’s, and its navy cruises through contested waters in 1970s hand-me-downs from the South Vietnamese.
From that shorthanded position, the Philippines has set off on a risky mission to do what no nation in the region has managed to do: thwart China in its drive to control the vast waters around it.
Analysts say the Philippines’s strategy, in standing up to Asia’s powerhouse, is just as likely to backfire as succeed. But it provides a crucial test case as smaller countries debate whether to deal with China as a much-needed economic partner, a dangerous maritime aggressor, or both.
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My Comment: The Philippines are to China what Cuba is to the U.S. .... a small neighbor who is trying to punch above his fighting weight .... and failing.
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