Two Philippine supply boats have breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in the South China Sea in a recurring confrontation near a disputed shoal some fear could spark a larger security crisis that could draw in the United States.
China a year or less ago: Hey Phillipines, we should deepen our relationship. We’re both close neighbors and you don’t need to rely on the states for everything:).
China now: Fuck you Phillipines!! fuck you Vietnam!! Fuck you India!! Fuck my neighbors and friends!!! I hate everyone China #1!!!
China didn’t do the former, or at least their actions didn’t match their words. Duterte gave them an opening to improve relations, when his presidency began in 2016. China took the olive branches and began exploiting the Philippines to the hilt, including ramping up their actions around the Scarborough Shoal. All through this period, Chinese diplomats were in Wolf Warrior mode, sneering at and insulting their southeast asian counterparts at every opportunity. It was so bad that the US, under Donald Trump’s presidency, ended up looking like the more reasonable alternative.
Eventually, even Duterte got exasperated. And now the Chinese are having a shocked Pikachu face moment as the Philippines asks the US for more help.
All of which is to say that Xi is not a very smart man. He was handed a once in a generation opportunity to tease the Philippines out of the US orbit. All the Chinese had to do was be nice to their neighbors. And they completely bungled it.
Just to share a bit of perspective from the Philippine side here. The Philippine president before Duterte, Aquino Jr, was more proactive in advancing Philippine interests in the area. Then, Duterte started the shift away from the US and its allies to move closer to China. The current president, Marcos Jr, is way less pro-China than Duterte.
I suspect that Duterte and his campaign was funded by the Chinese to advance their interests in the country, including the disputed area. It’s also worth noting that during his administration, the Philippines opened a lot more to the Chinese, with locals becoming resentful of the seemingly preferential treatment afforded to them. If that’s not enough, there started popping up Chinese-owned (nominally Filipino-owned) offshore gaming entities which were manned by Chinese nationals (some of them were apparently housed in terrible conditions by their employers).
There might be more anti-Chinese sentiment here after Duterte than before him, oddly enough.
China a year or less ago: Hey Phillipines, we should deepen our relationship. We’re both close neighbors and you don’t need to rely on the states for everything:).
China now: Fuck you Phillipines!! fuck you Vietnam!! Fuck you India!! Fuck my neighbors and friends!!! I hate everyone China #1!!!
Speed run Paraguayan war 2l
China didn’t do the former, or at least their actions didn’t match their words. Duterte gave them an opening to improve relations, when his presidency began in 2016. China took the olive branches and began exploiting the Philippines to the hilt, including ramping up their actions around the Scarborough Shoal. All through this period, Chinese diplomats were in Wolf Warrior mode, sneering at and insulting their southeast asian counterparts at every opportunity. It was so bad that the US, under Donald Trump’s presidency, ended up looking like the more reasonable alternative.
Eventually, even Duterte got exasperated. And now the Chinese are having a shocked Pikachu face moment as the Philippines asks the US for more help.
All of which is to say that Xi is not a very smart man. He was handed a once in a generation opportunity to tease the Philippines out of the US orbit. All the Chinese had to do was be nice to their neighbors. And they completely bungled it.
What authoritarianism does to a mf
God where have I seen this before…
Russia, 2020-2022:
Just to share a bit of perspective from the Philippine side here. The Philippine president before Duterte, Aquino Jr, was more proactive in advancing Philippine interests in the area. Then, Duterte started the shift away from the US and its allies to move closer to China. The current president, Marcos Jr, is way less pro-China than Duterte.
I suspect that Duterte and his campaign was funded by the Chinese to advance their interests in the country, including the disputed area. It’s also worth noting that during his administration, the Philippines opened a lot more to the Chinese, with locals becoming resentful of the seemingly preferential treatment afforded to them. If that’s not enough, there started popping up Chinese-owned (nominally Filipino-owned) offshore gaming entities which were manned by Chinese nationals (some of them were apparently housed in terrible conditions by their employers).
There might be more anti-Chinese sentiment here after Duterte than before him, oddly enough.