Xi’s focus on maritime economy hints at more intrusions into PHL waters
THE PHILIPPINES should brace itself for an intensified presence of China in the South China Sea that is aimed at cementing its control of resources there, analysts said, as the Xi regime calls on the Chinese military to make its maritime strategy align with economic development.
Aside from building more military outposts in the waterway, China is also likely to put up maritime buffer zones seaward, Enrico Cau, an associate researcher at the Taiwan Center for International Strategic Studies, said in a Facebook Messenger chat.
Chinese President Xi Jinping last week called on his country’s armed forces to coordinate preparations for military conflicts at sea and help in the development of the maritime economy.
Mr. Cau said China could enforce a “threefold” strategy: resource control, geographic dominance, and denial of space from the other claimants.
“This means that China is not only trying to control the resources. It means that, likely, it is trying to use the resources while at the same time denying strategic access to both resources and strategic locations that could be exploited by others,” he said.
“The purpose of occupation would not be only resource exploitation. Rather a sustainable model that entails denial to others while developing resources in occupied areas,” he added.
Mr. Xi, speaking to a delegation of the People’s Liberation Army and police force at an annual parliament meeting last week, also underscored the need to build a defense system in cyberspace and boost his country’s national network security.
Chinese legislators, meanwhile, vowed to push for a set of new laws that would modernize China’s capacity for national security and safeguard its “sovereign interests.”
Following Mr. Xi’s remarks, the Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) said on Friday it had already launched the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept which, in plain language, means “we are developing our capability to protect and secure our entire territory and exclusive economic zone.”
Filipinos “shall freely reap and enjoy the bounties of the natural resources that are rightfully ours within our domain,” it said.
POLL: MOST FILIPINOS WILLING TO FIGHT A ‘FOREIGN ENEMY’
An OCTA Research poll conducted in December, which was commissioned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, showed 77% of Filipinos were willing to fight for the country in case of a conflict with a “foreign enemy.”
“Across major areas, at least 60% of adult Filipinos are willing to fight for the country, with the highest percentage observed in Mindanao (84%) and the lowest percentage in Visayas (62%),” OCTA said in a statement on Sunday.
The highest percentage was recorded among those aged 45 to 54, at 87%. The lowest recorded percentage was among those aged 65 to 74 at 69%.
OCTA interviewed 1,200 adult Filipinos face-to-face nationwide from Dec. 10 to
14. The poll had a ±3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.
CHINA HIKES MILITARY BUDGET, POSES ‘CIVIL-MILITARY FUSION’
Despite the bumpy road for its economy, which is threatened by a two-million drop in the Chinese population, soaring debt and declining foreign investments, China has increased its defense budget for 2024 year by 7.2%.
Its military is expecting a big boost this year as the Xi regime seeks to lower the costs for weapons acquisition.
“The comments relating to new quality fighting forces could be read, I believe, as a push to an overall improvement of the military,” Mr. Cau said. “The statements not only seem to signal a heightened attention towards military preparedness, but it also resonates with calls for the military to focus on real combat capabilities.”
Raymond M. Powell, a fellow at the US-based Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, said Mr. Xi’s call for the military to be involved in economic matters is not really new since China does not draw a hard distinction between civilian and military matters.