Philippines: Vietnam Joins Anti-China Coalition
August 28, 2013: Vietnam and the Philippines announced that are developing joint military and diplomatic plans to thwart increasing Chinese aggressiveness in territorial disputes throughout the South China Sea. In the past Vietnam tried to go it alone against China and got beaten in several battles. Perhaps because of the rough treatment Vietnam has received from Chinese forces in the past, the Philippines also repeated its staunch support for a no confrontation policy.
This is part necessity, because even with lots of charity the Philippines cannot expect to ever afford a military that would be more of a nuisance to China. For confrontation, especially when China asserts its claims to territory right off the Filipino coast, an ally like the United States will be needed. So far the Americans have not committed to helping with such a desperate situation.
As the peace talks with MILF creep towards completion the Moslem factions that oppose the terms of the deal (limited autonomy and not independence) are now accused of supporting terrorist attacks in the south (Mindanao and adjacent smaller islands). Abu Sayyaf is accused of cooperating (and being paid) to help carry out this disruption campaign. This violent factionalism is nothing new in the south and is seen as a problem that will persist after the peace deal is implemented.
The government is having a problem with southern (largely Moslem) politicians who refuse to allow American UAVs to operate from local airports. Although the UAVs are often used to aid disaster relief (like for the recent massive typhoon storm damage) the politicians fear retaliation from Islamic terrorists who see the American UAVs as a mortal threat and want to interfere with the use of this aerial surveillance as much as possible. In the latest case it was the government that asked for the U.S. UAVs to be brought in to provide a more precise view of the storm damage that has left nearly a million Filipinos homeless.
