Rich and Dangerous Bullying the Philippines
China is both rich and dangerous to her neighbors. All her territorial claims in South China Sea involving the Gulf of Tonkin, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines are consistent with China's ambition to control the region economically, politically, and even militarily. Bullying is China's main strategy. Now the Philippines filed a complaint at the United Nations tribunal. Repoted Bloomberg.com (accessed 4/3/14):
The Philippines challenged China’s claims to much of the South China Sea at a United Nations tribunal yesterday, seeking to check its neighbor’s push for control of disputed waters rich in oil, gas and fish.
The Faces of China
China today has assumed many different faces. A part of her is rich, another is poor. She is always pro-neighbor economically, but on the otherhand, very aggressive in claiming territories even though violative of territorial laws and protocol, according to most legal experts in international law.
How Did China Become a Giant Economy?
First off, let's compare China with Russia. Both of them are communist countries, but China survived and became rich, while Russia ended her communistic rule as a result of her failed economy. What do you think of China's economic miracles? There are a thousand and one reasons of it, I know. But from my layman's opinion, one of the main factors is China's opening her doors to the non-communist world. In short, the communist's so-called totalitarian control of the economy and lives of the people didn't work. Communism, I mean the Russian model, was a big failure. The so-called USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) collapsed in the 1980s.
Whereas, China flourished and has even overtaken Japan as the second largest economy, second only to the US, in the world. Den Xiaoping, the architect of China's reforms, once said that: "Poverty is not socialism. To be rich is glorious." Yes, that's the economic key: allowing the Chinese people to become rich by their own labors and entrepreneurship just like in democratic countrie--plus the influx of multi-national companies and foreign capital into China!
Potential: One Billion People and Cheap Labor
We know that China today has many different faces. Research shows that inside China, its lingering poverty is still very much alive. Its human rights violation is great; its suppression of man's inherent freedom to speak up remains China's surname and seal. But why are big companies the world over queued to build a business niche in this place? Two possible reasons: China's cheap and government-controlled labor force, and its market of over one billion people.
While the U.S. is occupied with mending its economy, China is spreading its financial tentacles to the U.S. Here's the news by http://english.ntdtv.com which it aired over the Web on April 17, 2012:
"Chinese authorities have increased their holdings of US debt for the second consecutive month. The Chinese regime bought 12.7 billion US dollars worth of bonds in February. This is according to the latest figures from the US Treasury department. China now holds approximately 1.17 trillion dollars worth of US Treasury Securities—making it the largest foreign owner of US debt. Japan comes in a close second, with just over 1 trillion dollars. But, US citizens still own the largest chunk of the US debt—approximately 15 trillion dollars."
Not Interested in United Nations Tribunal
Another report from Bloomberg.com:
China cannot accept the international arbitration sought by the Philippines, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said yesterday in a statement on the ministry’s website. The Philippines occupies some islands in the South China Sea “illegally,” Hong said.
What do you think? Is China a dangerous neighbor indeed?
