USA Military Exercise in Philippines and China Situation

Mount Apo in Mindanao, Philippines

The Philippines is involved in a naval exercise with the USA:

April 16, 2012

Philippines, US Begin Military Exercises as Standoff With China Continues

Simone Orendain

Thousands of United States and Philippine troops kicked off joint military exercises Monday against the backdrop of a standoff in the South China Sea, between the Philippines and China.

U.S. military officials say at 4,500 this is the largest number of American troops who will participate in annual war games with the Philippine military. They are joining 2,300 Filipino troops. In speeches during the opening ceremonies of the two-week event, called “balikatan” or shoulder-to-shoulder in Filipino, officials from both countries reaffirmed their commitment to upholding their mutual defense partnership.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Jesse Dellosa, said while the partnership has helped with the country’s response to internal threats, there still remains a “shadow of doubt” in the country’s ability to handle certain international issues – a reference to the territorial dispute with China…

The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all have competing claims in the South China Sea. China claims nearly the entire sea based on a historical map. The Philippines says the shoal is part of its territory based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which designates a country’s exclusive economic zone as 370 kilometers from its coastline.

The contested sea straddles some of the world’s busiest sea lanes, has abundant fishing waters and is a potential source of vast oil and natural gas reserves.

Some of the joint exercises this year are taking place on Palawan, an island province that sits on the South China Sea. A U.S. military spokesman says one of the drills involves the retaking of a Philippine oil rig at the hands of terrorists in the South China Sea.

Although China has consistently expressed displeasure over the waters being an exercise site, U.S. and Philippine officials say the war games are aimed at crisis planning for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

While the exercises with the USA may temporarily make carnal sense, in the long-run I believe that the Philippines will likely align with China, but we will see (the Philippines also has some ties to Spain and thus ties to Europe, at least temporarily, are likely).

I also suspect that the other nations mentioned (Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei), despite having territorial disputes with China, will as well at least somewhat partially align with China–though until possibly not until nearer the time of the Great Tribulation.

The USA is a declining military power, but at this time is the main force that many in Asia currently look to in order to keep China’s territorial ambitions at bay. But with the USA out of the way, which will happen (cf. Daniel 11:39), the situation will change in Asia.

The Living Church of God has about 34 congregations in the Philippines as well as others in Asia.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Islands and Bible Prophecy What’s ahead for islands? What’s ahead for the Philippines? What does the Bible prophesy about islands?
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2012, 2013, or 2014? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000?