By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
If we Filipinos just open our eyes and look over our geographic fences to view the current situation in China, it would not reveal an indestructible economic “Superpower” perhaps most of us have come to believe it to be.
Yes, China is mighty and all. But economic struggles are cracking into its political muscle. And that is why Chinese President Xi Jinping is now drumming up the use of nationalism as a strategy to garner support amid the economic slowdown.
China has a declining economy which is driven by factors like deflation, real estate issues, and an aging population. Some insiders in the mainland even suggest that the weakening of its economy has prompted Xi’s leadership to flex its military muscles — to distract the whole world!
See, for example, how despite domestic challenges, China has been intensifying its South China Sea assertiveness; creating problems for Asian nations that are co-claimants to parts of this vast maritime expanse; and resorting to aggressive acts, like firing water cannons at Philippine vessels.
Are all these actions — all unprovoked on the part of the Philippines, which has maintained its routine presence in the West Philippine Sea for decades — just a bully’s demonstration of Beijing’s stubborn resolve? Well, President Xi, that bold display of aggression won’t hide your country’s economic vulnerabilities forever.
Chinese people are not enemies of Filipinos in the first place. But with this strategy of “nationalism” being bred by their government, it makes the world wonder if President Xi’s plan now is to make enemies of its Indo-Pacific neighbors. Look at how the Chinese Communist Party treats its nation’s brothers and sisters in Taiwan.
This is the big problem with the political leadership that President Xi represents: statecraft committed to using “hard power” in dealing with its neighbors, particularly now with the Philippines. This is something retired Rear Admiral Rommel Jude Ong, a military strategist, said is what China manifests through the coercive actions of its coast guard and militia vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
Still, international geopolitical scientists warn that imposing more West-driven sanctions on China could awaken the beast. China’s economic troubles might be real, but their aggression in the South China Sea seems to be on steroids right now.
As China’s economy falters due to complex reasons, the risk of global security crises rises, too, analysts say. They say the rigid stance of Xi’s regime — perhaps, full of tyranny and pride — has pushed itself to a corner where a really violent reaction could be triggered if more Western sanctions were to be imposed.
What’s in our favor is that just this past weekend, the United States, Japan, and South Korea have taken a stand against China’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea. They’re not mincing words; it’s a straight-up call-out of China’s show of bravado.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has flexed its muscle, too! The AFP warned China: hands off the BRP Sierra Madre and the Philippines’ rotation and resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal, where the worn-out battleship is moored.
This crystal-clear message is something China does not want to cross unless it wants to activate the Philippines’ mutual defense treaty with the US.
Who’s the beast we don’t want to awaken now?
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