President Noynoy Aquino yesterday warned Chinese Defense Minister Liang Gianglie that continued intrusions into the dispute Spratley Islands could lead to an arms race.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer today quoted him in a news item saying:
“I said, ‘If there are incidents such as these, doesn’t it promote an arms race happening within the region? When there’s an arms race, doesn’t the potential for conflict also increase? Who benefits from such a development?’” Mr. Aquino said.
“I told them, ‘We may not have the capabilities now but that might force us to increase our capabilities also,’” he said.
Hmmm... Okay, just for the sake of discussion and supposing that our President is actually serious, let's see how the Chinese military stacks up against our military.
Here are a couple of statistics from www.globalfirepower.com:
PERSONNEL
Total Population: China: 1,330,044,544 [2008]; Philippines: 96,061,680 [2008]
Population Available: China 729,323,673 [2008]; Philippines: 46,724,739 [2008]
Fit for Military Service: China 609,273,077 [2008]; Philippines: 38,059,588 [2008]
Active Military Personnel: China 2,255,000 [2008]; Philippines: 113,000 [2008]
ARMY
Total Land-Based Weapons: China 31,300; Philippines, 411
Tanks: China: China 8,200 [2004]; Philippines, ?
Armored Personnel Carriers: China 5,000 [2004]; Philippines, ?
Towed Artillery: China 14,000 [2004]; Philippines, 242 [2001]
Self-Propelled Guns: China 1,700 [2004]; Philippines, ?
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems: China 2,400 [2004]; Philippines, ?
Mortars: China 16,000 [2001]; Philippines, ?
Anti-Tank Guided Weapons: China 6,500 [2004]; Philippines, ?
Anti-Aircraft Weapons: China 7,700 [2004]; Philippines,
AIR FORCE
Total Aircraft: China 1,900 [2004]; Philippines 257 [2003]
Helicopters: China 491 [2004]; Philippines 126 [2003]
Serviceable Airports: China 467 [2007]; Philippines 255 [2007]
NAVY
Total Navy Ships: China 760; Philippines 36
Merchant Marine Strength: China 1,822 [2008]; Philippines, 391 [2008]
Major Ports and Harbors: China 8; Philippines, 6
Aircraft Carriers: China 1 [2010]; Philippines, 0
Destroyers: China 21 [2004]; Philippines, 0
Submarines: China 68 [2004]; Philippines, 0
Frigates: China 42 [2004]; Philippines 1 [2008]
Patrol & Coastal Craft: China 368 [2004]; Philippines 24 [2008]
Mine Warfare Craft: China 39 [2004]; Philippines 0
Amphibious Craft: China 121 [2004]; Philippines, 12 [2008]I can't even begin to describe just how wrong it is for President Aquino to openly say such a thing.
When I heard he had said something that seemed like he was threatening China with war, it was as if I had been thrown back to the time when President Joseph Estrada ordered a naval blockade in the Spratley Islands.
15 comments:
ok lng yun boss.. made in china naman..^^ Y jwk.. nway.. idk bat nde nag iinvest ang government naten pag dating sa mga military weapons.. maybe we dont need war but sometimes we need it for the sake of our defense.. in your statistics mukhang gunaw bansa naten.. halip na kurakutin lang pera ng gobyerno.. dun na lang ilagay.. just my opinion lang po...
Tignan mo na lang ang statistics... Kahit buong budget natin ang ilagay sa pagbili ng military hardware at sundalo, hindi natin matatapatan ang China.
Kailangan pa bang sabihin arms race? Pabilisan ng braso? hehehe
Kaya yan... Let Trillanes, Guevarra and Barnido lead the Armed Forces against China!
Maybe NoyNoy is backed up by Uncle Sams military force, you know US and OIL. Maybe NoyNoy is pressing his showbiz luck...
Your qestions will be answered once you become the President. Right now you are just a blogger, means your intelligence is just a blogger.
They can wipe us out without us knowing. Sigh.....
Kahit gaano ka lakas ang isang bansa may weakness din mga yan kaya huwag tumingin sa kanilang mga armament nila.pagdating sa jungle fight or tactical may kakayahan ang ating mga kawal dyn. Believe what you have.
what a beautiful comparison ..if most of our former officials in the AFP do their job very well di sana tayo mangangamote ngayun..sayang naman ..dami pera nasasayang lang sa walang value..pabaon..kickbacks...project switching...grabeehhh..sana uunlad naman tayo sa larangan ng militar ng di tayo matakot sa china
Salamat Cocoy!
Marami sa ating sundalo ang nagagalit at gustong ipagtanggol ang bansa natin. Pero, kulang ang tapang nila sa makakasagupa nila at dapat paghandaang mabuti ang ano mang aksyon na gagawin.
hahaha and you know what's more funny? all these weapons that we have was purchased pa during the reign of Pres. Marcos. look at us before and look at us now.
noy noy is just an office boy looking merely in figures and not on amajorpicture of whats happening..
its a mistake voting for him as the president
dont judge noy,for the mistake of the others,alangan naman pabayaan na lang takutin tayo ng china.that is our area, and china is far from spratly island,kung wala kayong magawa at magdadakdak lang tungkol sa mga lumang gamit, bakit hindi kayo gumawa ng paraan para makatulong sa pagunlad ng bansa puro kayo satsat wala naman kayo naitutulong, hindi pa rin nawawala yung utak talangka nyo puro hatak pababa ang ginagawa nyo
We all know the FACTS mr author. First off we are not into an arms race with China. What is happening right now is just a long delayed Military upgrade. Second, the worst that can happen is a limited engagement or skirmish in the West Philippine sea NOT a full blown war. Third, The Chinese will never attempt to invade the Philippines home islands (Palawan, the closest) because they perfectly know what awaits them if they do that. I don't know why but the President knows whats he's doing and he's up to something. Malaki na po ang pinagbago ng ating hukbong sandatahan ngayon. Wala na po sila Cimatu, Villanueva, Reyes, Garcia, at Ligot at unti unti nang naisasa ayos ang mga pagkakamali ng nakaraan.
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