Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Event That Precipitated US Involvement in WWII

On December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt of United States declared war on Japan. The president described the Japanese attack the day before as “a date which will live in infamy” during his speech in congress.

United States enmity with Japan was caused by the latter’s expansionist and militaristic policies in China and Indochina. To sanction Japan, the United States, Netherlands and Great Britain froze Japanese assets in their countries. On top of it, the United States imposed a petroleum embargo on Japan to deny her military the sources of vital raw materials from Southeast Asia.

Japan had two courses of action to deal with the tense situation involving her and those hostile western countries. One was to have the petroleum embargo lifted by making a semblance of withdrawal from some conflict areas but all the while maintaining control over other areas that she already occupied. And the extreme measure was to prepare for war.

The United States thought that Japan would not launch an attack against her because Japan was too weak to initiate an attack considering that it had committed a large part of her forces in the occupation of China and Indochina. Because of it, Japan’s forces were so overstretched that it would be unlikely that it could mount a large scale attack against the United States.                                                                    

The rise of General Hideki Tojo as premier pushed Japan further to militaristic tendencies. He set November 29, 1941, as the last day on which Japan would accept a settlement without a war. Tojo’s deadline which was kept secret meant that war was imminent.                                                                                                   

Japan thought that the US presented a clear threat to its plan to seize petroleum and other resources from her neighboring Asian countries. In that connection, she had to neutralize the US Pacific Fleet which was based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. If it would attack the naval base at all, Japan expected the United States to declare war, but would not be willing to fight long and hard enough to win.

On December 7, 1941, the first wave of Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor came at about 7:53 a.m.  Carrier-based Japanese torpedo planes attacked the American airfields in the Hawaiian island. Shortly thereafter the ships at the “Battleship Row” were also struck by the torpedo planes.

                                 

The second wave of attack by the Japanese torpedo planes was launched at about 8:55 a.m. It hit ships that were already damaged by the first wave of attack and also attacked other targets. The raid was all over by 9:55 a.m. or just in about two hours. As a result, 18 US battleships were sunk or badly damaged, 188 US aircrafts were destroyed and about 3,000 American naval and army personnel were killed or wounded. The Japanese on the other hand had only negligible casualties.

The Japanese forces however were not able to destroy any US aircraft carrier because during the attack all were out at sea. Neither did they destroy submarines, maintenance areas and oil storage facilities. Had the Japanese hit those targets, the damage sustained by the US could have been very substantial.

Lapse in intelligence on the part of the United States contributed to the Japanese military success in Pearl Harbor. In October 1941, US naval authorities disseminated intelligence information to its fleet commanders of an imminent Japanese attack. However, Washington disagreed with the warnings.                                                          

US authorities were able to break the diplomatic code and knew that an attack was imminent just several hours before it happened.  But because of problems in communication, the information was only relayed to Major General Walter C. Short and Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the military commanders of Pearl Harbor, one hour after the incident happened.

There were also other signs of an impending attack. One was the sinking of a Japanese midget submarine which was spotted at the entrance of Pearl Harbor at 6:30 a.m. However, the naval authorities failed to appreciate the significance of that sunken submarine. The Army Radar Station in Hawaii also reported sightings of planes that were 50 miles from it. But the lieutenant who was told of that information believed that they were US planes returning from reconnaissance flight or they were B17s scheduled to arrive from California.

The attack on Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii forced the United States to join the war on the side of the allied forces. Germany and Italy declared war on the US on December 11, 1941, which escalated the worst global armed conflict the world has ever known.

China and Japan Territorial Dispute in East China Sea: a Flash Point in the Pacific

Photo credit: Wikipedia

The uninhabited islets of East China Sea are another flash point east of the Pacific Ocean. China, Japan and Taiwan are involved in dispute over conflicting claims on chain of islands called Senkaku by the Japanese and Diaoyu by the Chinese.  China also claims ownership and sovereignty over Spratly’s group of islands at the South China Sea which is also contested by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Early in August 2012, a group of 14 residents from Hong Kong and mainland China travelled by fishing boat and landed in one of the islands at Diaoyu. Japanese authorities then arrested and deported them. Later, a group of Japanese activists on a flotilla of 150 people went to the Japanese controlled Diaoyu group of islands. Ten of them swam ashore and raised the Japanese flag on one of the Islands on August 19. 2012. Although that move was not sanctioned by the Japanese government, it nevertheless sparked a nationwide protest in China.

The tense situation came to a head when Japan announced that it bought some of the islands at Diaoyu from their private owner at 26 million dollars. This infuriated China and President Hu Jintao warned that the move was invalid and illegal. In relation to the Japanese action, the Chinese took to the streets in the cities of Guanzhou, Wenzhou, Shanghai and other cities, and attacked some Japanese-owned business establishments. The protesters also threatened to boycott Japanese-made products and establishments. The situation forced the Japanese companies such as Panasonic, Toyota and others to temporarily suspend their operations.  

Taiwan joined the fray by sending 50 fishing vessels escorted by patrol ships to Diaoyu Islands. They were intercepted by Japanese coast guard ships which fired water cannon into the vessels. The Taiwanese patrol ships retaliated by also firing their water cannon into the Japanese ships. It was fortunate that the drama ended with neither side firing real ammunition.

Lately, China bought from Ukraine and put into service its first ever aircraft carrier joining the exclusive clubs of ten countries with active aircraft carriers. Christened Liaoning, the aircraft carrier can hold 30 fixed wing fighters which is way below the capacity of the much larger Nimitz class aircraft carrier of the US that can carry around 90 aircrafts. China is adding to its fleet six more aircraft carriers that are still in the process of construction.  From all indications, China aims to become the most dominant military power in the region.

Engaging in armed confrontation with Japan and even with the weaker countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines is not the best way for China to project itself as an emerging world power because it owes its prosperity with its trading with the west, Japan and other countries that are allied to the United States. Moreover, Japan like the Philippines has an outstanding mutual defense treaty with the United States. The treaties call for mutual military assistance in the event of an attack by another country. The United States confirmed that the islands disputed by Japan and China are covered by its security treaty with Japan.                                               

For China, Japan, unlike any other claimants of the disputed groups of island east of the Pacific is no pushover. Japan was once a world military power with a history of occupying China, and its economy at present is one of the largest and the strongest in the world. It is also one of the leading countries in the world with access to most advanced and sophisticated technologies that may include weapons. An armed confrontation between Japan and China may probably end in stalemate with Japan gaining the political advantage.

Despite their differences, Japan and China need each other to sustain their economic growth. China, a prosperous country with a very large population is a very big market for the Japanese to ignore. On the part of China, Japan is one of its largest trading partners.

Most of the Islands and islets in the disputed seas are barren.  However, the seas have great economic and strategic significance. The South and East China seas are trade route of about 5 trillion dollars worth of goods. They are a rich fishing area and are also believed to sit in huge deposits of oil and natural gas.

Barring substantial find of oil and natural gas deposits on or at the disputed group of islands; China, Japan, Taiwan and especially the weaker countries would not initiate move that would start a full blown war because their economic interest and well being would be adversely affected. Claimant countries may have a distrust or animosity to one another.  And isolated cases of armed clashes may arise from their dispute, but they may avoid resorting to war to settle their differences.

Related posts:

China and Philippine's Dispute over Scarborough Shoal

The United States-Philippine Defense and Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific

The United States-Philippine Defense and Security Cooperation in Asia-Pacific

The rise of the Marxist Soviet Union after the Second World War put it in collision course with the United States the world’s another super power. Their competition for global leadership brought about the Cold War. The fall of China to the communist under Mao Zedong in 1949 made the United States to be more concerned of the spread of communism to other parts of the world. In connection with the global political and security concerns that were prevailing at that time, the United States and the Philippines signed a Mutual Defense Treaty on August 31, 1951 at Washington D.C. which called for the two nations to help each other if either of them is attacked by an external enemy within its territory. The term of the treaty is indefinite and ends one year after one of the parties notified the other of its desire to terminate the agreement.                                                 

During the Cold War, the US and the USSR fortunately did not engage each other physically which would have been catastrophic for the world. However, they did compete utilizing their client states and at times sent their own forces to participate in battles such as the war in Viet Nam and Afghanistan. The war in Korea ended in a stale mate. And the conflict in Cuba and the war in Viet Nam ended in communist victory. The support of the US of corrupt and repressive anti-communist dictators like Anastasio Somoza and Ferdinand Marcos made the US unpopular to the people where those leaders reigned. The dumping of hated dictators by the US when they were no longer useful to it had created an image of the US as untrustworthy ally.

Anti-US sentiment and distrust to the US were manifested in the Philippines in 1997 when the expiring US Bases Agreement of 1947 was to be renewed by the Philippine Senate. Despite US President’s George Herbert Walker Bush’s support of it and Philippine President’s Corazon Aquino’s intimate campaign to have it renewed, the Senators nevertheless rejected the agreement on September 13, 1991. The last American troops left the Philippines on November 24, 1992.

The incident on 9/11 in USA on the bombing of Twin Towers of New York precipitated to the US War on Terrorism. The threat posed by Abu Sayyaf which is linked with the Jemaah Islamiyah, an international terrorist organization, has rekindled military cooperation between the US and the Philippines in dealing with mutual security concern. Pestered by kidnappings and other terroristic activities perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf, the Philippines welcomed the presence of limited number of US troops whose operations and conduct are regulated by the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines. The United States considers VFA as executive agreement that does not need the approval of the US Senate.                                                                                                                                                     

Despite the constitutional provision banning foreign forces in the Philippines, the government recognized its legitimacy. Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo invoked the 1951 RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty to justify presence of US troops. They are in the Philippines as advisers and trainers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines on counter-terrorism. They are also involved in civic action to help depressed communities in the south. So far, the partnership of US and Filipino troops has resulted to the killing of top Abbu-Sayaff leaders and the rescue of American kidnap victim Gracia Burnham on June 7, 2002.

Another matter that is of mutual security concern to the Philippines and the United States is the situation at South China Sea. At present the administration of President Benigno Aquino III is faced with the problem of conflicting claims of neighboring countries on shoals and islets in the South China Sea. A case in point is the Scarborough Shoal which is 198 kilometers off Subic Bay in the Philippine province of Zambales, and it is therefore within the Philippines’ 200 nautical kilometers exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, it is also claimed by China. The situation becomes volatile for both countries, and the Philippines is in no position to uphold its claim militarily because of the economic strength and the influence of China in the global community.

The Philippines’ quest for the resolution of dispute on territorial boundary with China got a big boost when US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton aboard USS Fitzgerald signed the Manila Declaration on November 16, 2011, reaffirming US commitment to honor the Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines. The declaration was signed in the presence of her Filipino counterpart Foreign affairs Secretary Alberto del Rosario.

Furthermore, the US Senate passed Resolution 481 on June 5, 2012, calling for increased defense and security cooperation between the United States and the Philippines. President Aquino visited the White House to talk with US President Barack Obama in the second week of June 2012 on bilateral issues concerning economic, security and defense in the Asia-Pacific region.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has announced in Singapore that the US will position 60% of its naval ships in the Asia-Pacific region before the end 2020. That figure is an increase by 10% of the current  deployment of 50%. His pronouncement emphasized the importance of Asia Pacific in the US’s future economic and defense plans. The region is the home of the world’s second and third largest economies by GDP like China, and Japan plus the economic power houses such as South Korea, India, Singapore and Taiwan.

China’s economy is predicted to improve even more in the years to come and that it will even surpass that of the United States. China’s military power is also growing and it is modernizing its Peoples’ Liberation Army. Its military might and its aggressive stance in the South China Sea relative to its claims on the disputed areas are cause of concern to its neighbors.                                                                

The defense and security cooperation between the United States and the Philippines is highly beneficial not only to the national interest of both countries but also to the other countries in the region. The increased presence of the US Navy will maintain the balance of power in the South China Sea. It will make the waters in it accessible to international vessels for economic and other productive purposes. The Philippines with its strategic location is a valuable partner of the US in that endeavor. The Philippines also needs the US to protect its interest in the disputed Scarborough Shoal because its Armed Forces is poorly equipped. It needs a credible defense, and cooperative and friendly relations with other countries to sustain its economic growth. The Philippines at present is a new industrializing country which is the 45^th largest economy in the world by GDP. It is projected by HSBC to become the 16^th world largest economy by 2050.

Related posts:

China and Japan Territorial Dispute in East China Sea: a Flash Point in the Pacific

Martial Law: Marcos' Coup to Cling to Power

China and Philippine Dispute over Scarborough Shoal
The Historic Philippine-United States Relationship
The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines

The Communist Insurgency in the Philippines

The history of communist insurgency in the Philippines dates back in World War II when Marxist-Leninist inspired group called Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon (Hukbalahap) fought on the side of Filipino and American forces against the Japanese. That was so because Russia or USSR, the first communist state in the world and its patron, was part of the Allied Forces that fought Germany in World War II. The Hukbalahap also championed the cause of the peasants and also fought the landlords in Central Luzon and those who were suspected of collaborating with the Japanese.

During the election of 1946 just after the war members of the Hukbalahap led by Luis Taruc ran for election and some of them won. However, President Roxas unseated them, and they went to the jungle to revolt. The image projected by the communists as defenders of the peasants and the poor plus the corruption of the succeeding president had strengthened their mass based support as well as its armed capability. It came close to victory so that it even threatened to advance to Manila, the national capital.   

In 1949, the Filipino communists got a morale boost and inspiration from a world event which was the overthrow of China’s Kuomintang government of Chiang Kai-shek by the communists who were led by Mao Zedong. The victory of the Chinese communists had somehow strengthened the conviction of their local counterparts that the rebellion could succeed.

The ambush by the communists of the popular former first lady Aurora Aragon Quezon, chairperson of the Philippine National Red Cross and widow of the late President Manuel L. Quezon, and her daughter “Baby” turned many Filipinos against them.  President Harry Truman of the United States, wary of communist victory, sent arms and other war materiel to the Philippines to help its armed forces.  One shining moment in the fight against the communists was the appointment of Ramon Magsaysay as defense secretary. Magsaysay enforced strict discipline in the military and vastly improved its capability to deal with the armed rebellion. Later, as the President of the Philippines he implemented social and economic reforms that eventually broke the backbone of communist rebellion. The communists were completely defeated in 1954 with their top leaders killed, captured and surrendered.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was vanquished, but its ideology was not. To keep that ideology from inspiring the youth, it should be discredited or replaced with a better one. The Marxist concept of sharing all works according to one’s ability and all benefits according to one’s need and a utopian society where everyone is equal is indeed appealing not only to the poor but also to most people. Corruption, unequal distribution of wealth and the privileges of the elites are ills of the Philippine society. The communists believed that application of their ideology is the solution to the country’s problems. Some people believed then that communism was the wave of the future whose eventual triumph could not be prevented.

Despite government’s effort to subdue it, Marxist-Leninist idea was passed on to new generation of youths and students.  A line of communications between the old and the new communists was open. Jose Maria Sison alias Amado Guerrero emerged as the leader of the then communist youths. He differed however with the old group of Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) or the Communist Party of the Philippines regarding the way it carried out its operations in the past which resulted to the defeat or near extinction of the PKP. Furthermore, Sison was more inclined to the Chinese style communism or Maoism rather the Soviets’ on which the remnants of Hukbalahap under PKP Secretary General Jesus Lava adhered to. Correcting past errors, Sison made the First Rectification of the Communist Strategy.

The old communists under Lava however, took exception of Sison’s rectification campaign which led to the division between the old and the young communists. Sison considered Lava and his groups as counter revolutionary and revisionists. Sison bolted out from the PKP in 1968 and reestablished the Communist Party of the Philippines with him as the chairman. On March 29, 1969, Sison founded the New People’s Army (NPA) as the armed wing of the party.                

The CPP/NPA made one of their boldest moves when they bombed the political campaign rally of the Liberal Party on August 21, 1971, in Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Manila. It resulted to 9 dead and 95 injured, and almost wiped out the entire opposition senatorial ticket of the Party. The public attributed the incident to President Ferdinand Marcos. The communist- instigated rally in the streets spearhead by the League of Filipino Students created an atmosphere of instability and chaos so that Marcos had to suspend the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus.

Near the end of his term, Marcos declared martial law which enabled him to extend his rule for another 13 long years. Under the pretext of containing communist and Muslim rebellions he imprisoned political oppositions, silenced the media and put up a puppet legislative assembly. The abuses committed by men in uniform in the hinterlands had somehow helped the NPA heightened their recruitment in the country side.                                                                                                                               

The repressive and corrupt Martial Law regime became a common ground for the communist and other well meaning groups to rally against. On April 24, 1973 the CPP/NPA established the National Democratic Front (NDF) as umbrella group in coalition with other sectors that were opposed to the dictatorship.                                                                                                                                                                   

During the Martial Law years many of those who joined the CPP/NPA were intelligent idealistic youths who had bright future ahead of them if they had chosen to be in the mainstream path. But they chose to go underground and to live in hardship to follow their conviction.

Meanwhile, the United States and the neighboring South Viet Nam were defeated by the communist North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong in 1975. The historic event was a sort of psychological boost to the local communists in the thought that a dedicated and highly motivated weaker force can defeat a seemingly bigger and formidable foe with a status of a super power.                                                                  

The situation under Marcos came to a head when Benigno Aquino, a prominent opposition leader, was assassinated upon his arrival from the United States. Putting the blame on Marcos, people took to the street to protests. The resulting political upheaval took its toll on the economy and there was a strong call from the people for Marcos to resign. To appease them and to regain his image abroad, Marcos called for a snap election. Though he was declared a winner against his rival, Corazon Aquino, the people thought that the election was rigged. In February 1986 people turned out in large numbers to protest. Marcos woes were worsened when his defense minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Vice chief of staff Fidel Ramos defected to the protesters. Under extreme pressure, Marcos fled to Hawaii and Cory Aquino was proclaimed as president.    

The stand of the communists in that historic moment to watch in the sideline and to wait and see was understandable considering that the Philippine military had taken the center stage of the February revolution. They knew that the military was uncompromisingly anti-communist, and there was no possibility that it would collaborate with them.                                                                     

In 1991, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic collapsed after 70 years of adapting Marxism. The event had a serious and negative implication to the cause the local communist are fighting for - their ideology. The experience of the USSR strongly indicated that communism does not work. However, the CPP/NPA did not go with the demise of the USSR. Although it has weakened, it continues to exist and remains a potent threat to national security.                                                                                                                                                                           

Furthermore, after the death of Mao Zedong, his successors opened the door for private business ownership and invited foreign investors thus undoing his closed market policy. The result was that the economy of China improved tremendously. China is now the second largest economy in the world. However, China maintains its authoritarian character, and still considers itself as a communist state. The experience in China proves that Marxist state controlled economy stifles growth, and that an economy where businesses are privately owned is a better economic system.

Some of the former conditions which facilitated the growth of the CPP/NPA were gone. And worse the communists suffered enormous casualties in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines which caused their strength to dwindle. The central committee then declared the implementation of Second Great Rectification Movement in the 1990’s to make internal criticism on mistakes committed in the past. It was launched in 1992 and largely completed in 1998.                                                                                               

The rectification resulted to the purges in the rank of the CPP/NPA .  Hundreds of members were secretly and summarily executed by their own comrades on suspicion of being deep penetration agent of the military. This resulted to the divisions and demoralization to the ranks of the communists. Jose Maria Sison reiterated his policy of a protracted war. Those who adhered to his view were called the reaffirmists. There were those who rejected his idea and believed that the NPA was ready to attack the urban centers as prelude to overthrow the government. Those who supported that view were called rejectionists.

The CPP/NPA’s rebellion had exacted its toll on the Filipinos especially those living in the rural area. It is estimated that the total number of death since the NPA’s founding in 1969 has now totaled 40,000. The casualties included military, police, civilians and communists. The NPAs have sustained their struggle by collecting taxes on business establishments like mining, logging, telecommunication companies and others. It is estimated that they had collected 1.5 billion pesos since 1998. The CPP/NPA is also reportedly receiving money from foreign donors and sponsors. The government and the military termed the collection of the NPAs as extortion.

NPAs’ imposition of revolutionary taxes has tarnished its image. They convey their message to uncooperative businessmen and establishments by destroying or burning trucks and backhoes and other equipments.  There were also reports of liquidations by the NPAs of men in uniform and civilians that are against them. One of the high profile assassinations that they carried out in 1989 was that of US Army Colonel James Rowe, founder of US Army Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Course. It is also reported that the NPAs recruit children as combatants which is a violation of children’s rights. Because of their atrocities the NPAs were declared by the US State Department as a foreign terrorist organization and as so did the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy.

It is estimated that the strength of the CPP/NPA has reduced dramatically in recent years. During its peak in 1987 the group has about 25,200 members with 15,500 firearms. By the end of 2009 their strength was only 4,702 with 4,895 firearms. The number of barangays or villages where it has influence was estimated at 8,500 in 1987, but in 2009 it was 1,077 or only 2.5% of the total 42,000 barangays.

The Philippines is now a newly industrializing country and is the 45^th largest economy in the world in terms of GDP. By 2050 the Philippines is projected by HSBC to become the 16^th largest economy in the world if it can sustain its good economic indicators such as educational opportunity and democratic government or strong rule of law. Ironically the CPP/NPA depends on negative indicators like corruption, weak economy, and social instability in the government to sustain its armed struggle. Without these adverse conditions the people have no reason to support or sympathize with it. Worse, most people now believe that communism is a failed ideology. Judging from the steady decline of its memberships, the NPA’s chance to overthrow the government through armed struggle is indeed bleak, or that it would take them long years to succeed if they could ever do it at all.   

Related article:

Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese General Who Humbled the Western Powers                   

China and Philippine's Dispute over Scarborough Shoal

Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea has become a bone of contention between the Philippines and China. Both countries claim ownership of that barren shoal which is called Panatag by the Philippines and Huangyan by China. Scarborough shoal is composed of islets, reefs and an atoll. Beijing based its claim in history citing Yuan dynasty map of 1279 which included the shoal as part of its territory. The Philippines on the other hand premised its claim on geography since it is only about 123 nautical miles or 198 kilometer off Subic Bay while it is 350 nautical miles from China. The Philippines asserted that the shoal is within its 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and therefore it has the legitimate right to explore and use its marine resources in accordance with the UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).                                                                                                                  

Countries at the South China Sea such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines and to a lesser extent Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims over the outlying group of small islands and reefs in that sea. However, China claims sovereignty over almost all of the disputed islands. The conflicting claims resulted to an armed confrontation between China and Vietnam in the Paracel and Spratly’s islands. That engagement went badly for Vietnam, and since then China secured the area with its troops. The Philippines also claim some of the areas such as the Panganiban Reef in the Spratly’s which is just 87 nautical miles off its province of Palawan. But the Chinese fished at the sea around it. When the Philippines protested, China responded by building a four- story military garrison there.  China insisted that it is part of its territory. After some saber-rattling the Philippines backed down.                                                                  

Scarborough Shoal is not a part of Spratly’s Islands, and the Philippine government considers it as part of its municipality of Masinloc, Zambales. But the Chinese government also considers it as its own. On April 10, 2012 eight Chinese vessels with their crew were caught by the Philippine Navy with corals, giant clams and live sharks at the shoal. In response, Chinese authorities then sent navy vessels to that area.  Although there was no armed engagement between the Chinese and the Philippine vessels, the presence of the Chinese Naval ships enabled the Chinese fishermen to get away.  Relative to the incident the Philippine ambassador was called from his embassy in China, and the Chinese authorities told him that the Philippine government should let alone Chinese fishermen at the shoal and that its navy should not be sent there.                                                                 

The Philippines however, is not in a mood to submit to the threat of its giant and powerful neighbor. It has signified its openness to the assistance of its long time ally, the United States in the dispute.  The United States has so far shown supportive but sometimes ambivalent position with regard to the issue. Prior to the May incident the US senate passed a resolution on June 2011 condemning China’s use of force against smaller countries in the area and affirmed US willingness to use its military might against China’s aggression in South the China Sea. The US and the Philippines also agreed to conduct joint military exercise in the Philippines, an activity which further alienated the Philippines from China.  Despite that resolution from the US senate, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton issued statement that the US will not take side in the event armed conflict erupts in South China Sea.

Dealing with the Philippine resoluteness, China engages its small neighbor in the economic front. It declared 150 containers of bananas as infected with pest and as a result the fruits just rot in the Southern Chinese ports. Chinese tourist bookings to Boracay Island, a popular tourist destination, were also cancelled. The Chinese account for the fourth largest tourist arrivals after the Koreans, Americans and Japanese. The sanction had an immediate impact on the affected businessmen who relayed to the Aquino administration their situation. The president advised them to look for markets and tourists elsewhere.

Some Filipinos view the event at Scarborough Shoal as an act of aggression and violation of their country’s sovereignty by China. They marched at the Chinese embassy in the Philippines on May 11, 2012. Parallel march was also conducted at Chinese embassies in other countries. Before that protest China issued an advisory to its citizen in those countries not to go out of their homes in that date. To ease the tension, the Philippines sent a communication to China that the protest was an exercise of its citizens’ right for the redress of their grievance, and it was not initiated in any way by the government.

China is the world’s second largest economy and the third largest in size in terms of total area. It has also the world’s second largest army with 2.3 million active troops that are supported with a whooping military budget of US $129 billion in 2011.  It is also a recognized nuclear weapon state. Indeed, by all accounts China is the strongest country in the area at the South China Sea and perhaps in all of Asia. A small and poor country like the Philippines has a very limited chance of success against China in a military conflict. However, the Filipinos are united behind the national leadership of President Aquino to defend and protect a territory that they think as rightfully belonging to them.                                                                                                                           

The Philippines has so far made move to settle its dispute with China over the Scarborough Shoal. It has tried to propose with China to bring the matter to the International Tribunal for the Laws of the Sea (ITLOS), but the latter refused. It has also tried to get the involvement of its neighbors to resolve the issue. But so far, those countries have not yet responded. And most of all the Philippines keeps its line of communication always open with china in resolving their disputes diplomatically.

The disputed islets, reefs and cays in the South China Sea are mostly barren, uninhabited and devoid of vegetation. Apart from being rich fishing ground, they have little economic value at present. However, speculations are rife that those groups of island sit on vast natural gas and fossil oil deposits.  And it is probably the reason why China would want to have all of the islets of the South China as its own. China is a newly industrialized country with the biggest fossil fuel consumption in the world.                                   

With its super power potential, increasing international influence as well as its growing economic and military powers, China may eventually possess and control all of the disputed islands in the South China Sea. The country that can deter or stop China most from its aggression is the United States, the only remaining super power in the world. China will think twice before locking horns with the most powerful and influential country of the world.  Although the US is indebted financially to China, the latter owes its prosperity with its trading with the US and other Western countries. The US can do better in having partnership with countries in the area other than China if the contested areas are indeed rich in deposits of oil and other underwater mineral resources. The control of China of important key trading route in the sea may not be good for the US in its global projection of power. Adherence to international laws such as UNCLOS by nations having conflicting territorial claims of the disputed areas is perhaps the best option to avoid armed conflicts among them.

Related post:
China and Japan Territorial Dispute in East China Sea: a Flash Point in the Pacific

Vo Nguyen Giap, the Vietnamese General Who Humbled the Western Powers

Vo Nguyen Giap was born on August 25, 1911, in Quang-Binh province of Vietnam. He studied at Lycee Albert-Sarrant in Hanoi where he earned his law degree in 1937. He became a professor of history at Lycee Than Long in Hanoi. He joined the communist party and in 1938 married Min Thai. Together, they worked for the Indo-China Communist Party. He was active in anti-colonial activities and was an ardent nationalist. When the party was outlawed by the French authorities he escaped to China where he joined Ho Chi Minh, the leader of Vietnam Revolutionary League (Viet Minh). In Vietnam, Giap’s sister-in-law and his wife were captured by the French. His wife later died in prison in 1939.                                                                      

The Japanese occupied Vietnam during the Second World War. Giap organized a resistance group that fought the Japanese until the end of the war. He also supported the goals of Ho Chi Minh’s independence movement. After the Japanese forces were defeated in 1945 Ho announced the independence of the country and formed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He then appointed Vo Nguyen Giap as commander of all police and internal security forces and as commander-in- chief of the armed forces. But the French reestablished its authority on its possession in Indo-China after the war. It refused to recognize the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and armed conflict followed as a result.                                                                     

The war turned favorable for Ho Chi Minh when in 1949 Mao Zedong defeated the Kuomintang regime of Chiang Kai-shik and established a communist government in China. A big next door neighbor became an ally and a supporter. Ho Chi Minh’s forces could now bring supplies and men from there and seek refuge there when the situations were bad.

The cost of war in terms of lives and money for the French were mounting, and there was no victory in sight. Above all, the French public thought that there was no moral justification for the war, and it increasingly became unpopular at home.  The French promised to set up a national government and to grant Vietnam independence. However, the Viet Minh did not trust the French, and the war continued.                                            

General Henri Navarre, the commander of the French forces In Vietnam devised a plan to draw the Viet Minh to the negotiating table.  He thought of defeating the communist in a large scale conventional battle by blocking the route of men and supplies from Laos at Dien Bien Phu which is at the northwest of Vietnam.  Navarre thought and hoped that If Giap took the bait he could destroy his forces.                

General Giap did not see the possible outcome of the battle the way Navarre did. He accepted Navarre’s challenge. The French positioned about 14,000 troops, artillery and other weapons at Dien Bien Phu. Giap put up about 70,000 men and enveloped the French position. He brought artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns across the most difficult terrain which the French had not anticipated. He then placed them in vantage positions and dug trenches and secret tunnels leading to the positions of the French. When the fighting commenced the French forces were all but outclassed. Giap’s anti-aircraft guns that were brought from China also made it difficult or impossible for the French to bring in reinforcement of fresh troops and supplies.

On May 7, after 55 day of siege the French forces surrendered to the forces of General Giap.  The French suffered 7,000 casualties and 11,000 were held as prisoners of war. The following day, on May 8, 1954, the French government announced its intention to withdraw its forces from Vietnam.  

In the aftermath of the French debacle at Dien Bien Phu, a conference at Geneva was held. On May 8, 1954, Vietnam was partitioned at the 17^th parallel and a reunification election was to be held in 1956. In the divided Vietnam the north was allied with the USSR and China. The south was allied with the United States. In the north Vo Nguyen Giap became the deputy minister, minister of defense and commander in chief of the armed forces.

South Vietnam’s distrust of the communists resulted to the non realization of the reunification election. President Ngu Dinh Diem stated that he was not bound by the Geneva accord and declared the Independence of South Vietnam in 1955. Diem’s actions were implicit declaration of war against the north. And battle lines were drawn between the two neighboring brothers.                                    

The entry and interference of the United States in the conflict escalated the war. There were the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the US forces pitted against the North Vietnamese Army and National Liberation Front (NLF) which was also called the Viet Cong. USSR and China provided assistance to the north and the NLF in terms of war materiel.                                                                            

The United States, wary of communist takeover of Vietnam and the fall of other Asian neighbors to the communists, made its strong presence felt in the Vietnamese conflict. In 1961, there were only two helicopter companies with 4,000 US soldiers.  In 1965 the US strength was up at 200,000 and in 1968 it ballooned to 525,000.                                                                                                                                                               

North Vietnam in which Vo Nguyen Giap was the commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army devised a plan to score big victory in the magnitude of Dien Bien Phu to weaken US resolve to continue the war. A massive, simultaneous, and coordinated attack by the North Vietnamese troops and the Viet Cong to coincide with the Vietnamese lunar New Year called Tet would be launched against 100 urban targets all over South Vietnam.                                                                                                  

The Tet Offensive turned out to be a tactical disaster to the communists instead. It lost 45,000 of its best troops and the NLF was virtually crippled. The military defeat of the communist however had unintended consequences that were favorable to them. The Tet Offensive had created an impression to the American political and military leaderships that the war in Vietnam could not be won. Moreover, the horror of war as shown on TVs and media heightened the anti-war sentiment of the American public.

US leadership thought that a negotiated withdrawal could be its solution to the problem that it had gotten itself into. The US sued for peace negotiations. A peace talk collapsed in December 16, 1972, and President Nixon ordered massive bombings of Hanoi and Haipong by B52 bombers to bring the communists back to the negotiating table.                                                                                                                                                      

On Jan 27, 1973, In Paris, delegations from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam and the provisional government signed agreement ending the war and restoring peace. Some conditions of the deal was the withdrawal of all US and allied forces from South Vietnam, the  return of POWs on both sides and an international monitoring committee composed of Hungary, Poland, Canada and Indonesia to oversee the implementation of peace accord. However, President Nguyen Van Thieu was apprehensive with the deal since 145,000 troops from the north would still remain in the south. He called the peace deal made by Henry Kissinger and Le Dhuc Tho a “sell out”.

Kissinger and Tho were both awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for the peace deal. Kissinger accepted it but Tho did not. Tho correctly thought that peace was not attained with the deal and beyond that deal major battles loomed ahead. Peace could only be attained when communist victory was in hand.

After escalating a war that caused 57,685 American lives plus 153,303 wounded and a spending that cost about 686 US billion dollars, the US forces left Vietnam in 1973. To some observers, the withdrawal was an implicit admission of defeat.  The US left the task of fighting the communist to the government of South Vietnam which it called “Vietnamization”.  Under that policy the US would continue to give financial and material support to the south to prosecute the war. Nixon even hinted that the US would come to the aid of the south if the north violated the peace deal.

The US pullout had an immediate impact on the Vietnamese economy which depended too much on the spending of the US troops. The Yom Kippur War of 1973 sent the price of oil skyrocketing and it made the operation of US left behind war equipments such as planes and tanks more expensive to operate. Furthermore, Nixon’s credibility was greatly eroded by the Watergate Scandal. Although another republican Gerald Ford took over the presidency from Nixon, the 1974 mid-term election saw the democrats who were anti-war winning the majority of both the lower and upper houses of US congress.

The democrats made resolution to phase out the war funding. It was decreased in 1975 and cut off in 1976. Furthermore, the Case-Church amendment of 1974 prohibited the intervention of the US in case of a re-escalation of the war in Vietnam.

As soon as the US forces were gone, the North Vietnamese under General Giap’s guidance and leadership as the commander-in-chief began attacking south and most of the south’s key positions were overran by the communists. President Ford wanted to help but his hands were tied by congress. There was no way the south could stave off defeat. On April 30, 1975, Saigon fell and the Republic of Vietnam surrendered unconditionally. And the north and the south were unified as one country under the rule of the communists.

Vo Nguyen Giap was the chief of the People’s Army throughout the war with the United States. His resoluteness to fight a protracted war, his willingness to accept staggering battlefield losses in furtherance of his ends and his ability to move men and war materiel across impossible terrain in sufficient numbers to accomplish his goals have enabled him to become one of the most successful military commanders in recent history.                                                                                                  

From 1976 when north and south were united Giap served as minister of defense, he also became the deputy prime minister in 1976. He was a member of the politburo of the communist party until 1982.

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