Are we headed back to the Philippines?

[TopDog]

First my seemly unrelated rantings:

I saw a listing in the classifieds for a balisong knife. In the Philippines they are called butterfly knives. I was stationed in the PI in the post Vietnam era 1975 - 1978. Ah fond memories of PI and the butterfly knives, every hooker on mek sai sai street in Subic Bay carried one. You could pick them up from street vendors. OK enough reminiscing.

So I tried to look up mek sai sai street Subic Bay on the net just to see what the current status of well known area was after the PI kicked the US out over two decades ago.

In my search I ran across and article in the Washington Post about how the US and PI are considering basically a return of US forces to the PI to send a message to China. Fears of China's expanding military presence has the Philippines considering welcoming US military presence back as a warning to China.

Quote from the article "Although Washington has said it is not trying to contain China’s rise as an economic and military superpower, Obama announced a new military strategy this month under which the Pentagon will “rebalance” the armed forces toward the Asia-Pacific region in the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."

So will Asia return to being the new hot spot? Can we spread ourselves out enough to be effective watch dogs in both the Middle East and Asia? Yes I know we are moving out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but we will maintain a presence in the middle east. Will China even be concerned? I doubt this will have any effect on China's strategy of making claims to disputed territories like the potentially energy rich South China Sea. After the massive departure of US military out of Okinawa recently and the PI twenty some years ago, I don't see US ships floating around in the Asia-Pacific region as much of a threat to China. What say you all?

Link to article referenced: Philippines may allow greater U.S. military presence in reaction to China’s rise - The Washington Post

 

[CathyInBlue]

I think China's in just about the same position as Japan and Germany were ca. 1935. Their economy is trending down and they need a way to prop it up and they think they have that solution in the form of expeditionary militarism. Ultimately, it'll turn out the same for China as it did Germany and Japan, only I don't see America, who owes the ChiComs such a huge debt, will be in much of a mood to rebuild them after WWIII as we were to rebuild Germany and Japan post-WWII.

They're busy building aircraft carriers, but they don't have nearly enough naval-ready aircraft for them to carry. They have a SLCM on steroids for anti-American aircraft-carrier use, just to rattle that particular saber at that particular threat.

As soon as their people see their economy going south, the Chinese Politburo is in deep, deep Kung Pao Chicken. They're gonna have entirely enough on their plates on the domestic front. Any external threats will be largely military political theatre on the leadership's part. Not that such active expeditionary militarism wouldn't need opposition from the west and China's neighbors.

 

[spec4]

IIRC the Phillipinos threw us out. Let them wallow.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

The Philippines, like the Vietnamese, would welcome (in a sort of a kinda-like half-way ehhnn-thusiastic fashion) our fleet units there to ward off the Chinese. For us, it COULD make sense, depending upon the circumstances of such stationings, because it would bring us that much closer to be able to support Japan or Taiwan in the event the Chinese get froggy and our Administration has the balls to live up to its mutual aid commitments to the Japanese and Taiwanese - and to hell with our debt to the Chinese Commies.

I think we should make the Philippinos and/or the Vietnamese build/refurbish the port facilities and pay some of the upkeep before we agree to come back, though.

 

[Zoub]

The Chinese in general today are just as pissed about the 1930's as Southerners were about the civil war in the 1940's. 80 years is not enough to forget.

The Japanese dumped fleas on them infected with bubonic plague and that was the least of what they did to China. They will get payback. We can't stop it.

 

[Blackhawk2001]

The Chinese in general today are just as pissed about the 1930's as Southerners were about the civil war in the 1940's. 80 years is not enough to forget.

The Japanese dumped fleas on them infected with bubonic plague and that was the least of what they did to China. They will get payback. We can't stop it.

The East China Sea has foiled China's attempts to invade Japan in the past and I don't think it's likely that China - which doesn't have a great history as a naval power - will get military payback through their surface navy anytime soon.

 

[IndyDave1776]

The Philippines, like the Vietnamese, would welcome (in a sort of a kinda-like half-way ehhnn-thusiastic fashion) our fleet units there to ward off the Chinese. For us, it COULD make sense, depending upon the circumstances of such stationings, because it would bring us that much closer to be able to support Japan or Taiwan in the event the Chinese get froggy and our Administration has the balls to live up to its mutual aid commitments to the Japanese and Taiwanese - and to hell with our debt to the Chinese Commies.

I think we should make the Philippinos and/or the Vietnamese build/refurbish the port facilities and pay some of the upkeep before we agree to come back, though.

Agreed, particularly considering that I recall that the motive appeared to be that the Philipinos were greedily eyeing the base at Subic Bay wihtout considering that we may (and did) demo the place and leave them with dirt, chunks of concrete, and dust. Now the poor babies are afraid of the big bad Chinese. They deserve to be afraid!

 

[Blackhawk2001]

Agreed, particularly considering that I recall that the motive appeared to be that the Philipinos were greedily eyeing the base at Subic Bay wihtout considering that we may (and did) demo the place and leave them with dirt, chunks of concrete, and dust. Now the poor babies are afraid of the big bad Chinese. They deserve to be afraid!

I thought (there I go again) that Subic Bay was buried under a mound of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Did I misremember that?

 

[TopDog]

I thought (there I go again) that Subic Bay was buried under a mound of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Did I misremember that?

That was Clark Air Force base destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Clark was about 40 miles from Subi Bay.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I thought (there I go again) that Subic Bay was buried under a mound of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Did I misremember that?

The only reason I remember it is that I was still in school at the time (and had far less on my mind than I did thereafter) and was overjoyed at how much it served the little miscreants right for a political move that amounted to attempted larceny.

 

[Cerberus]

I was just a month out of the PI whene Pinatubo popped. It was weird seeing all the bars we used to frequent on Magsaysay and Gordon Sts. covered in what looked like snow.

It was time for us to leave when we did. The Pilipinos still like us, and for the most part stand with us on most things. And while their economy is far from good, it is better now that we have weened them off us.

 

[TopDog]

I was just a month out of the PI whene Pinatubo popped. It was weird seeing all the bars we used to frequent on Magsaysay and Gordon Sts. covered in what looked like snow.

So that is how you spell the name of that famous street, thanks.