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<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-22/barque-canada-reef.avif" alt="Barque Canada Reef, May 11, 2024" loading="lazy" />
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(Barque Canada Reef, May 11, 2024)
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<p>
Prodigious anti-China basher, former justice Antonio Carpio, who is married to a Vietnamese, has never ever criticized Vietnam for ignoring our claims in the Spratlys. Vietnam is the only claimant that got to grab in 1975 an island, Pugad Island (Southwest Cay), from us, although by subterfuge.
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Vietnam has occupied the most features in the Spratlys - four islands and 29 reefs. The Philippines occupies eight islands and two reefs. China occupies seven reefs, which it transformed into artificial islands from 2012 to 2013, and three shoals, including Bajo de Masinloc, which the Philippines abandoned in the 2012 Scarborough stand-off.
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<p>
As sure as the sun rises in the East, if China vacates its occupied artificial islands in the South China Sea, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will be landing its troops on each and every island, and it has been preparing to do so for a decade.
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While Vietnam has been spending resources to expand its artificial islands in the South China Sea, our government has instead chosen to spend billions of money on other useless infrastructure, such as the new Senate offices, at a cost of P10 billion. We have improved Pag-asa, our biggest island in the Spratlys, but only repairing the airstrip there and constructing a small building for its communication facilities. President Marcos Jr. appears to rely totally on the Americans to defend us in the Spratlys through their nine "rotational" bases.
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I'm sure Marcos' national security adviser, defense secretary and, of course, that really clueless Philippine Coast Guard spokesman have never heard of the Vietnam threat, as they have never ever said a word about it but instead have quite stupidly pointed out this other danger to us as Chinese propaganda meant to distract the country's attention away from China's "bullying."
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What a country!
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The other threat in the South China Sea: Vietnam