President Benigno Aquino: Efforts to contain China's expansion

(Baonghean) - Bringing the case to the United Nations Arbitration Court regarding the "cow tongue line" is a significant success. Not stopping there, the Manila government continues to decide to increase military spending to a record level next year. These are the remarkable efforts of Philippine President Benigno Aquino in preventing Beijing's expansion in the East Sea.

Benigno Aquino was born on February 8, 1960. After the 2010 election as a representative of the Liberal Party, he was trusted by the people to hold the highest office in the Philippines. As the only son of former President Corazon Aquino, before entering politics, Benigno Aquino graduated from Ateneo de Manila University and was injured in a failed coup when his mother was in office. In 1998, he was elected to the House of Representatives as a representative of the 2nd district of Tarlac province in the 11th Congress of the Philippines. In 2007, he was elected as a Senator.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III speaks at the Future of Asia Conference in Tokyo, Japan, on June 3.

As a child, he encountered an incident when his father (Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., Vice Governor of Tarlac Province) was arrested and charged with "advocating the overthrow of the government by force and violence." Ninoy was brought before a military court at Fort Bonifacio in August 1973. On August 25, 1973, Ninoy wrote a letter to his son in which he said: "The only advice I have for you is to live with dignity and conscience. There is no better place than our Fatherland. No one is more wonderful than our people. Serve them with your heart, your will and all your strength. Son, your life is in your hands." And later, in his life or political career as well as when he became the highest leader of the Philippines, his father's advice had a great influence on his thinking. Specifically, President Benigno Aquino is trying to unmask China as it increasingly reveals its ambition to monopolize the East Sea. So what is the reason for his determination?

To answer this question, we need to realize that the cause comes from Beijing's mistake. That is, this country brazenly released an illegal and unreasonable "cow tongue" map that "sweeps" over 80% of the East Sea area and the subsequent aggressive claims of sovereignty by many Chinese leaders and scholars on diplomatic channels, media... After that, taking advantage of the unacceptable momentum, China has been stepping up its activities of reclamation, renovation and construction of a series of illegal artificial islands in the East Sea. China's current reclamation activities that change the status quo of the East Sea are causing great concern and dissatisfaction in the Philippines, in the region in particular and the world community in general. What is even more worrying is that the structures that China is hastily building illegally in the East Sea are likely to be used for military purposes. China's move is believed to be a bold step forward for this country to move towards its ambition of monopolizing the East Sea.

The South China Sea is one of the most important seas in the world because it contains vital shipping routes. At the same time, the South China Sea is also believed to contain an attractive reserve of natural resources, especially oil. China's brazen construction and illegal reclamation of a series of structures that can be used for military purposes in the South China Sea is considered a step that pushes everything beyond the limit of tolerance. Countries that have long stopped at criticizing China understand that if things continue as they have in the past, China will get closer and closer to its goal of gaining control of the South China Sea. Therefore, responding with legal measures is the most reasonable choice to prevent China's expansion. And the administration of President Benigno Aquino is no exception.

In the effort to bring China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), analysts say that this is a wise move by President Benigno Aquino and is supported by the international community. Because clearly, the so-called "nine-dash line map" that China uses is only the basis for China to claim sovereignty over almost the entire East Sea. As for the legal basis, with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, which China signed, perhaps only those who came up with it would recognize it. The country's President even made a speech saying that China's behavior in the East Sea reminded him of Nazi Germany in the past. He explained that because the major European countries could not stop Nazi Germany from gradually invading neighboring countries, that led to the outbreak of World War II.

After successfully bringing China to the PCA, making the world's second-largest power feel weak and afraid, as evidenced by Beijing's recent efforts to call on Manila to "go in the right direction, resolve disputes through negotiations and consultations". Knowing that bilateral negotiations are impossible when China often applies great power relations, President Benigno Aquino has taken another big step to show his efforts to prevent China's expansion in the South China Sea by deciding to increase military spending to a record 25% next year. The 25% increase means that the Philippine military in 2016 will have 25 billion pesos (552 million USD) to invest in strengthening Manila's sovereignty in the South China Sea. This amount of money is too small compared to China's huge spending (more than 130 billion USD), but the basis for President Benigno Aquino to believe that he can make China less aggressive is the support of allies and the international community.

Until now, it can be said that no matter what the court's verdict is, no matter how much the $522 million will strengthen the Philippines' military power, but certainly the above moves have forced Beijing to be more cautious about its illegal ambitions in the East Sea. In less than a year (May 2016), President Benigno Aquino will leave the most powerful seat in the Philippines (the country's Constitution only allows each president to serve a single 6-year term), hopefully his efforts to prevent China's expansion will be rewarded so that the East Sea will become increasingly "calm".

South Scene