“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” Pompeo said. However, in an attempt to put the issue in another perspective, I requested two retired senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for their comments on naval exercises. Their views should debunk what the senators above-cited and the so-called maritime expert, not a naval exercises expert, lawyer Jay Batongbacal of the University of the Philippines assert. A naval exercise of this magnitude is a preparation to fight a naval war in a coordinated manner, in the high seas. The main problem in the South China Sea is hegemony, in the guise of freedom of navigation, between the Western powers and China.

Source: Manila Times August 10, 2020 16:37 UTC