auspice
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By Andy H. Hagad
Bottom Line
Monday, December 10, 2012
THE question has been asked by media and political observers, noting the apparently-uncharacteristic behaviour of China against its Asian and Asean neighbours Japan, India, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, all of whom have claims over portions of areas surrounded by the China Sea. Uncharacteristic? A closer look at the geographic and political background of China indicates that the behaviour may actually be true-to-form.
The Chinese government has always adopted an iron-fisted policy even among its citizens. It has to. The Chinese Mainland is so huge that it covers an area that spreads from Asia all the way to Europe.
Inside its territory one will find Chinese with slanty eyes, citizens with big round eyes, black-haired, brown-haired and blond-haired subjects, depending on what area of China one looks at. The cultures of these different ethnic groups are also so diverse that if the government had not ruled them with an iron hand, they would have clashed and broken up a long time ago. Add the fact that there are more than a billion of them and we can understand why a bully attitude is necessary to keep them together and in check.
With more than a billion mouths to feed and sustain it is also a monumental effort for China to keep its economy vibrant and growing. It is a giant with an insatiable appetite and must be sustained with mountains of food, natural, commercial and industrial resources every second of every minute of every hour of every day. A drop of even a fraction in its gross domestic product (GDP), for example, translates into warning signals of a possible slide towards an economic crisis.
On the other hand, the problem with being a world power like China is that one needs to protect it with a strong military force. Keeping the armed forces well-armed, well-stocked and running sucks up a huge amount of the government budget. China recently launched its first aircraft-carrier. I do not doubt that the cost to build and maintain it must be higher than our own government's entire national budget.
In 2010, the Chinese economy rose at its peak to 9.4%. In 2011 I read that it dropped to 7.2%. While that figure to developing countries like the Philippines is cause for rejoicing (we recently recorded a growth of 7.4% during the third quarter of 2012), the slide of more than 2 bases points to the Chinese government is probably very alarming, indicating that expenditures are running away from income; and more resources must be pumped into the economy before the slide towards economic bankruptcy becomes inexorable. Where to get the resources? One source is the reported undersea oil and gas deposits in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea to us) and its rich marine life.
This is why China is such a bully these days. It feels it has to if it is to maintain its position as a world power. If we are to protect our interest in this part of the ocean, we need to understand why China is behaving that way.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/o...2/12/10/hagad-why-china-behaving-bully-257615
Bottom Line
Monday, December 10, 2012
THE question has been asked by media and political observers, noting the apparently-uncharacteristic behaviour of China against its Asian and Asean neighbours Japan, India, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, all of whom have claims over portions of areas surrounded by the China Sea. Uncharacteristic? A closer look at the geographic and political background of China indicates that the behaviour may actually be true-to-form.
The Chinese government has always adopted an iron-fisted policy even among its citizens. It has to. The Chinese Mainland is so huge that it covers an area that spreads from Asia all the way to Europe.
Inside its territory one will find Chinese with slanty eyes, citizens with big round eyes, black-haired, brown-haired and blond-haired subjects, depending on what area of China one looks at. The cultures of these different ethnic groups are also so diverse that if the government had not ruled them with an iron hand, they would have clashed and broken up a long time ago. Add the fact that there are more than a billion of them and we can understand why a bully attitude is necessary to keep them together and in check.
With more than a billion mouths to feed and sustain it is also a monumental effort for China to keep its economy vibrant and growing. It is a giant with an insatiable appetite and must be sustained with mountains of food, natural, commercial and industrial resources every second of every minute of every hour of every day. A drop of even a fraction in its gross domestic product (GDP), for example, translates into warning signals of a possible slide towards an economic crisis.
On the other hand, the problem with being a world power like China is that one needs to protect it with a strong military force. Keeping the armed forces well-armed, well-stocked and running sucks up a huge amount of the government budget. China recently launched its first aircraft-carrier. I do not doubt that the cost to build and maintain it must be higher than our own government's entire national budget.
In 2010, the Chinese economy rose at its peak to 9.4%. In 2011 I read that it dropped to 7.2%. While that figure to developing countries like the Philippines is cause for rejoicing (we recently recorded a growth of 7.4% during the third quarter of 2012), the slide of more than 2 bases points to the Chinese government is probably very alarming, indicating that expenditures are running away from income; and more resources must be pumped into the economy before the slide towards economic bankruptcy becomes inexorable. Where to get the resources? One source is the reported undersea oil and gas deposits in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea to us) and its rich marine life.
This is why China is such a bully these days. It feels it has to if it is to maintain its position as a world power. If we are to protect our interest in this part of the ocean, we need to understand why China is behaving that way.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/o...2/12/10/hagad-why-china-behaving-bully-257615
