gsvol
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As China tries to strong arm our Filipino allies what will Barack Obama do? « « Coach is RightCoach is Right
Since mid April Chinese naval vessels have been circling a pile of rocks situated 124 miles off the coast of the Philippines that barely qualifies as an island.
The rocks are called the Scarborough Shoal and save for there position, and rumors of oil and gas under them, they have no value to anyone. Nevertheless it is precisely because they are so far from their own shore that the Chinese are trying to pressure the Filipinos into relinquishing their long held claim (since 1734) to Panatag as they call them.
Moreover since the Scarborough Shoal at just 124 miles off the Philippines it is well within the island nations 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) recognized by international law as Filipino fishing territory.
China is slowly but surely attempting to increase her hold on the entire South China Sea and in doing so she is pushing asides the overlapping claims to the fishing rights of Malaysia, Brunei Vietnam Taiwan, and the Philippines. Because they are our allies the involvement of these last two has the potential to bring us into this dispute and a no win result.
True to its consistent refusal to abide by laws it doesnt like, the Chinese government has sanctioned incursions into Scarborough waters that involve not only fishing, but firing at Philippine boats and removing coral from a reef included in the Panatag.
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Barack Obama and his media lackeys can ignore this crisis but that doesnt mean it poses no threat to world peace.