Another step closer to war with China?

I was looking through some listings of recent defense contracts awarded and other defense industry related news and I saw this interesting headline:
Philippines Seeks U.S. F-16s Amid China Concerns
This is from the following link:
DefenseWorld.net
This report was dated 12/21/2011, and it was reported by the DefenseWorld bureau.
And news of the same from the AP via Yahoo! news:Philippines seeks 12 F-16 fighter

On Dec 16, 2011 StrategyPage.com also reported this story, and according to its author, the Philippines cannot really afford the planes, so they are looking to get some good used ones for FREE, and then pay for upgrades as needed. Kind of like getting the software for free, but paying for support and upgrades. That would be an interesting negotiation process to witness...As the title of the above article states " Buddy, can you spare a few..."


A little history:
The U.S. closed its last military base in the Philippines in 1992. The reason was that the end of the cold war rendered the need for a base in this area unnecessary, so the Philippine government decided not to 'renew' the basing agreement.
In 1991 the eruption of Mount Pinatubo vulcano lead to the demise of Clark Airforce base (as well as Subic bay Naval station) as it was covered in vulcanic ash and debris. The Americans basically fled the bases and abandoned them.

Back to the future:
Now, it seems that the Philippine people will expand their military capabilities by acquiring these F-16s. They cite the growing concerns with China's attempts to reach further from home as they try to influence more of south east asia and even beyond.

Anyhow, it seems that based on these articles, there is a high likelyhood that the Philippines will get these F-16s to bolster their defense capabilities. I can also imagine that there is an offensive purpose for these fighters as well, but compared to China's airforce, it's most likely that these planes will serve as 'escorts' to any 'stray' Chinese fighters who happen to be in Philippine airspace, by accident of course...

I wonder if China even has a comment about this deal, perhaps they don't even care because it's not likely to really matter much in the grand scheme. But who knows, China may view this as another attempt by the U.S. to indirectly put pressure on China. Afterall, the U.S. consideres itself a Pacific Nation, and therefore claims to have a right to participate in the region of the Pacific no matter how far away it is from its borders.

This is a link to a thread from 2005 here on ATS which mentioned this situation, but it seems that it has been pretty low profile all this time.
Exclusive "Pinoy" F-16s

The Philippines currently does have an airforce (Philippine Airforce) but it's tiny, about 18 old Italian SF-260 Training Jets purchased 3 years ago, and a handfull of old Italian S211 Training Jets. The S211 Trainers don't even have search radar, so they are likely going to be retired as well. The Philippines airforce also had some F-5 fighters, but these old F-5s became worn out and they retired them from service about 6 years ago. Nowadays, their airforce is really limited to using Helicopters for fighting Islamic terrorists in the southern part of their territory.

I hope this new Cold War arms race doesn't lead us into a Hot one!

Stay classy America

reply to post by AutomaticSlim

Philippines looking for hand outs. Neighbours Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and even Vietnam have modern planes. Really what can 12 units of F16 fighters do against the PLAAF. The combined air forces of SE Asia would still be insufficient. Maybe you can have a base if you give me some F16s at a discounted price. Free of charge would be even better.

I hope not...I work for a Chinese based corporation....it's the way of the world folks...I am not ashamed of that...I make a good living and I help make sure at least a handful of the folks I represent overthere makes a good living as well.

Allow me to let you in on a little secret the mainstream media does not share....they want you to hate, not sympathize....

The Chinese love us...they adore us...just like the Japanese a few decades ago...they so badly want to be like us...and they are quietly forcing their government to slowly allow that to be....just be patient.

Things are changing over there...it might not be happening at the speed some would like to see but if you consider what has changed over the last 30 years...major-major changes....

Here is a thought....I like my asian co-workers...they are simple people that work their ass off and to be embarrassed or make a mistake is like a terrible-terrible thing to them...so I try to be light when I have to point out a problem...pride is everything....

think of this....Japan was once our direct enemy and they eventually became one of our best friends...we never fought China...there is less to overcome than there was with Imperial Japan...no seriously. Our media has been intertwined since the 70's thanks to Bruce Lee...he opened a door that few..up to now...have ever appreciated...I think it was a good thing...and I think it is time to put the swords and clubs away and talk like civilized human beings to one another...I know my Asian co-workers would be tickled to death by it...

We use skype and heavily rely on email...i get a hoot sometimes as their command of the english language is a little lacking sometimes and some of the questions they ask...well...it makes me kinda laugh...the phrasing and choice of words is kinda funny at times...

We don't even need to talk "differences" anymore...that is silly...they are becoming more and more like us every day...just back off and give it time...they so badly want to be like us it is only a matter of time...unless you are scared...and fear has no place hear...fear = ignorance...