via G Captain
The Philippines has turned down offers from the United States to assist operations in the South China Sea, after a flare-up with China over missions to resupply Filipino troops on a contested shoal, its military chief said.
Tensions in the disputed waterway have boiled over into violence in the past year, with a Filipino sailor losing a finger in the latest June 17 clash that Manila described as “intentional-high speed ramming” by the Chinese coast guard.
The US, a treaty ally, has offered support but Manila prefers to handle operations on its own, Armed Forces Chief General Romeo Brawner told Reuters late Thursday.
“Yes, of course, they have been offering help and they asked us how they could help us in any way,” he said.
“We try to exhaust all possible options that we have before we ask for help.”
This should be concerning to the Pentagon. From a military perspective there is nothing more dangerous than an ally that is truly independent in thought and actions.
Now I ask you this.
Is it probable that the Philippines will allow their territory to be used to fire missiles at Chinese ships?
Will they even allow US forces to remain in the area to use ground based radar to monitor the sea?
I don't think they will. Again, which nation is gonna get in the middle of Godzilla fighting King Kong?
None with sense.
We need to rethink our concepts.
If we fight in the Pacific its gonna be a Navy & Air Force fight. The budget probably should reflect that. For better or worse if that's our priority then the US Army and US Marine Corps should probably face at least a budget freeze, if not decrease.
Rough times ahead if we're serious about fighting China for our ground forces.
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