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Fear of war with China over maritime claims 'not grounded on reality' - analyst

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Trishia Billones, ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><div id="IVS_ABS_Video_Widget_1_Container"><ivs-player id="IVS_ABS_Video_Widget_1" allow="autoplay" data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-wid="f5fb7bd1-3880"></ivs-player><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script></div></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="~//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="~//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>MANILA - The fear propagated by the government that China might instigate war against the Philippines if provoked is psychological and not based on reality, a defense analyst said Tuesday.This strategy may have been seen as effective in the first year of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s administration, but in the 2 years since the chief executive was elected, &quot;China ended up militarizing everything further,&quot; said Jose Antonio Custodio, member of Manila-based think-tank, Institute for Policy, Strategy and Development Studies, Inc.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/18/duterte-whats-the-point-of-questioning-chinese-planes">Duterte: What’s the point of questioning Chinese planes?</a></li></ul>&quot;I think it’s just basically not grounded on reality; it’s just psychological conditioning to accept the shift to China, to shut down opposition to that policy,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Early Edition.&quot;It’s similar to that drug war: if you’re a critic, you’re painted as an addict. In this case, if you’re a critic of the policy of China, then you want war,&quot; he said.With the Philippines no longer at the forefront of &quot;regional efforts to keep China at bay,&quot; Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia stepped up to the role, he said.&quot;I don’t see Chinese missiles raining down on Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta or even Hanoi. I don’t know where that talk from the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs), the dichotomy of &#x27;if we don’t do this, it’s going to be war&#x27;,&quot; he said.&quot;Why will China pick on us when in fact we have a mutual defense treaty with the United States and there are triggers for that mutual defense treaty?&quot; he added.A military aircraft, a Shaanxi Y-8, was spotted at Subi Reef in the Spratlys, according to photos taken by think-tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) last month.The aircraft was &quot;designed as a military transport aircraft, but some variants are used for maritime patrol or signals intelligence,&quot; said the AMTI.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/10/18/look-china-military-aircraft-ships-in-artificial-islands-near-ph">LOOK: China military aircraft, ships in artificial islands near PH</a></li></ul>Beijing&#x27;s air force also landed bombers on islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the region. One of the bombers also conducted assault training on a designated sea target and then carried out take-offs and landings at an airport in the area, describing the exercise as preparation for &quot;the West Pacific and the battle for the South China Sea.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/05/19/18/china-air-force-lands-bombers-on-south-china-sea-islands">China air force lands bombers on South China Sea islands</a></li></ul>Duterte, who has sought to thaw Manila&#x27;s cold relations with the economic giant, said Beijing’s deployment of military aircraft to the Spratlys should no longer come as a surprise.“There is an airport. There are missiles there in store. There are military equipment already in place. So what’s the point of questioning whether the planes there landed or not? There’s an air strip,” Duterte told reporters in a chance interview in Malacañang recently. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/16/18/duterte-whats-the-point-of-questioning-chinese-planes">Duterte: What’s the point of questioning Chinese planes?</a></li></ul><div>&#x27;CHINA TRYING TO COOPT ENTIRE NATION&#x27; </div>Custodio said the Philippines is increasingly seen by its partners in Southeast Asia and the likes of Japan &quot;as enabling the Chinese, not anymore containing them.&quot;&quot;It’s not just the West Philippine Sea issue that is happening here. The Chinese approach is much more expansive, more encompassing. Its penetration into the Philippines, not just in matters of our territory, but into our social fabric, our economy, our politics,&quot; he said.&quot;China is trying to co-opt the entire nation already at the rate things are going. It’s not just a matter of losing your territory, it’s also a matter of losing your entire country and being part of the Chinese ambit,&quot; he added.Custodio said Manila should protest China&#x27;s actions in the South China Sea to also show its partners the importance of the ASEAN alliance and partnerships. &quot;The problem with the current administration is that they’re trying to appear as if it’s us and the Chinese only. But no, we also have our obligation to our regional allies or partners, members of the ASEAN,&quot; he said.

MANILA - The fear propagated by the government that China might instigate war against the Philippines if provoked is psychological and not based on reality, a defense analyst said Tuesday.

MANILA - The fear propagated by the government that China might instigate war against the Philippines if provoked is psychological and not based on reality, a defense analyst said Tuesday.

Fear of war with China over maritime claims 'not grounded on reality' - analyst

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Fear of war with China over maritime claims 'not grounded on reality' - analyst

Trishia Billones,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 29, 2018 04:29 PM PHT

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Jose Antonio Custodio

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Rodrigo Duterte

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