Posted on 07/08/2013 9:26:43 PM PDT by TexGrill
MANILA--Japan pledged Thursday to help the Philippines defend its "remote islands", as both governments expressed concern over China's robust moves to stake its claims to disputed Asian waters.
Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said China's contentious claim to nearly all of the South China Sea and its territorial dispute with Japan in the East China Sea were discussed during top-level talks in Manila.
"We agreed that we will further co-operate in terms of the defence of remote islands... the defence of territorial seas as well as protection of maritime interests," Onodera told a joint news conference.
"We face a very similar situation in the East China Sea of Japan. The Japan side is very concerned that this kind of situation in the South China Sea could affect the situation in the East China Sea," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin welcomed Japan's offer of support for its poorly resourced military.
"We have agreed to continue our exchanges of information, exchanges of technology to help each other to make our defence relations stronger," Gazmin said.
Neither side offered specifics but Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in February his country was expecting to get 10 new Japanese patrol boats within 18 months.
The Japanese military brutally occupied the Philippines during World War II, but the two countries have since grown closer due to trade and investment, and more recently, through China's assertiveness.
(Excerpt) Read more at interaksyon.com ...
I think the Philippinos should plan on an alternative strategy.
Unfortunately, the alternative strategy is to ask Bathouse Barry’s Rainbow Warriors to defend them. Considering their options, Japan would be the prefered choice.
***The Japanese military brutally occupied the Philippines during World War II, but the two countries have since grown closer due to trade and investment, and more recently, through China’s assertiveness.***
I bet a big reason is that the U.S. can’t be counted on for anything for anyone anymore. We have bases in the area, but have become rendered unreliable.
It is kind of ironic for 50 years, 1895-1945, Japan was the bully of the region and China was weak.
Now, 70 years later, China is the military powerhouse and Japan has stopped developing due to a low birth rate engineered by post-war US occupation.
I don’t think that’s an accurate assessment. Asian hatred towards Japan runs deep. I lived in South Korea at a time when SK nearly declared war on Japan over Dokdo islands. SK protestors were chopping off their fingers and mailing their appendages to the Tokyo government. Some Koreans set themselves on fire in a call for war against Japan. Koreans would cheer these folks on while they burned to death.
This is interesting. When I was in the Philippines in the late 60s and early 70s, the Philipinos weren't too keen on the Japanese. Still a litle irked at them about WWII, or something!
ping
“I bet a big reason is that the U.S. can’t be counted on for anything for anyone anymore. We have bases in the area, but have become rendered unreliable.”
Well, I read the Asian journaL which is the weekly Filipino (obama ass kissing) newspaper. Right now, just to show you how weak the RP govt is, they are currently bitching that US forces are using their old Clark Air Base, yet according to the agreement, the US cant use it for anything but commercial. Whatever the govt, the RP is weak. Militarily, naval-wise.
However, if the Chicoms invaded the RP, they will draw them into the jungles and annihilate them guerilla-wise, the same way they drew the Japs into the provinces and killed them bit by bit.
If China invaded they would not be as nice as the Japanese. It would be a war of extermination—they would kill every citizen and replace them with Chinese. Japan and China will duke it out someday—now or twenty years from now. All this as the USA sits on its hands—unable to help Japan because of the debts and links to China. The islands will be Chinese—that is that unless China breaks into civil war haves vs have nots.
“Now, 70 years later, China is the military powerhouse and Japan has stopped developing due to a low birth rate engineered by post-war US occupation.”
I think Japan developed its own birthrate problem. For nations a high birthrate is required to compete. But for individuals, where the birthrate rubber meets the birthrate road, it’s all about how many children you can afford. By keeping home prices and food ridiculously high it was Japan that limited its birthrate.
Japan could have allowed real estate development but lacked the will. They could have allowed more imported food, but could not overcome the politics. They could have adopted a true free market, which would have lowered prices, but chose to protect their existing industrial structure. It is Japan who must be blamed for their birthrate problem. Just as Russia caused theirs and Greece theirs.
| Item | Amount | Yen Price | U.S.Dollar Price | Comments |
| White Bread | 6-slice package | 156 | $2.02 | Regular Price for inexpensive bread. Expensive white bread (6 slices) was about 220 yen at the time of this writing. Bread is usually sold in 4 to 6 slice packages |
| Eggs | 10 | 168 | $2.18 | 10 eggs (Smallest size U.S.). Loss leader eggs are sometimes on sale for 100 yen |
| Whole Milk | 1 liter (.9qt) | 168 | $2.18 | Regular price, Meiji Brand |
| Meiji Sliced Cheese (Pkg of 10 slices) | 190gm (6.7oz.) | 196 | $2.55 | Regular Price |
| Cabbage | 1 head | 138 | $1.79 | Regular Price |
| Hamburger (beef and pork mixture) | 200gm (7 oz.) | 196 | $2.55 | Sale price at a regular supermarket |
| Bacon | 150g (5.3 oz) (10 slices) | 166 | $2.16 | Regular Price at a discount supermarket |
| Chinese Cabbage | 1 head | 236 | $3.07 | Regular Price |
| Tomatoes | 1 (about 3" diameter) | 126 | $1.67 | Domestic |
| Irish Potatoes | 4 | 128 | $1.66 | On sale. Small (about 3" long) |
| Tofu | 1 pack (330g, 11.6oz) | 38 | $.49 | Good-quality tofu at a very low price. Tofu is usually between 48 to 78 yen for a half-size pack. |
| Spanish Onions | 1 | 38 | $.49 | Medium size. |
| Fresh Chicken Breasts (2) | 450gm (15.9 oz) | 293 | $3.81 | Domestic, on sale. |
| Mayonnaise | 500gm (17.6oz) | 256 | $3.33 | Domestic. Store brand. |
| Kirin Lager Beer | 1 case (24 cans)k | 3,622 | $47.07 | Can Beer at a discount liquor store, 350ml (11.8oz)/can |
| Rice from Japan | 10kg (22 lbs) | 3050 | $39.64 | Regular Koshi-hikari rice. |
| Broccoli | 1 | 128 | $1.66 | From the US. |
| Bean Sprouts | 1 package | 36 | $.47 | Regular Price. |
| Carrots | 3 | 128 | $1.66 | On sale. |
| Lettuce | 1 head | 208 | $2.70 | Domestic, out of season. |
| Beef Block, Shoulder Cut | 200gm (7 oz) | 196 | $2.55 | On Sale. Domestic. |
All items are domestic unless otherwise noted. The 5% National Sales Tax has been included in the product prices and U.S. dollar conversion done at 76.9 JPY to 1 U.S. dollar. Brand names are listed solely for the sake of information. No endorsements are intended.
We will be adding to and making changes to this list from time to time so be sure to check back if you're interested. Prices were collected during the 3rd and 4th weeks of December 2011.
Note: Vegetable prices are rather high due to the time of year. Beef prices are still, with many customers opting for domestic beef or that imported from Australia. U.S. beef is on the market, but some shoppers still shun it because of BSE worries. Rice prices are about average for the season.
Consumer confidence in foods imported from China is still low due to their past record of using illegal pesticides, shipping foods contaminated with bacteria and other irregularities. Recently, many supermarkets have increased the number of domestic products as well as those from countries having good reputations for food safety and the number of Chinese products being carried is still lower than it was before the poison dumpling scare.
In spite of the seemingly high prices of food when converted to US dollars, there has been a great deal of deflation in Japanese food prices during the past few years. Flour products, vegetable oils and a few other items have increased, but on the whole, prices remain relatively low.
Mining is a huge thing now in the PI. I have a friend who just retired from the Foreign Service and his wife is an Executive in a very large company mining in the PI (She is Pilipino) and things are going nicely for them.
Thanks TexGrill.
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Posted on 07/08/2013 8:01:47 PM PDT by TexGrill
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3040570/posts
Putin expected to visit disputed Kunashiri next week (Japan)
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Posted on 07/09/2013 12:46:16 AM PDT by TexGrill
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3040624/posts
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