It’s only worsening

“Vulnerability is the strongest state to be in. How boring would it be if we were constantly dominant or constantly submissive?”

— FKA twigs

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

AS we have stated here earlier, denunciation even from all the major superpowers around the world in support of the Philippines and against China will not send fears in the heart of behemoth China.

There appears to be no signs the “dangerous” maneuvers and use of water cannons against Philippine vessels near Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal, in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), will end.

In fact, it is only worsening.

The Philippines’ task force on WPS issues has declared that China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese maritime militia vessels “harassed, blocked, water cannoned and rammed” vessels of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) headed to Bajo de Masinloc to assist Filipino fishers in the area.

It was reported that both the PCG and BFAR vessels had sustained damage. China also reinstalled a 380-meter barrier across the shoal’s entrance, blocking access to the traditional fishing ground.

As this developed, China’s dominance in many areas in the world is now getting crystal clear. Is it a realization of what the late Chairman Mao had desired? “Let a hundred flowers bloom.”

Already the world’s largest economy, China’s economy is more than 20 percent larger than the US economy, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Furthermore, it is growing considerably more rapidly (assuming they don’t continue their zero COVID-19 policy forever), so it is projected to be more than a third larger than the US economy by the end of the decade.

Since China began to open up and reform its economy in 1978, World Bank says China’s GDP growth has averaged over nine percent a year, and more than 800 million people have lifted themselves out of poverty.

There have also been significant improvements in access to health, education, and other services over the same period.

In the end, China seems to be winning.

Even in sports, China has been giving USA, Russia, Great Britain, Japan, France, Germany, and all Olympic Games superpowers a run for their money.

 

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(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)