A serious matter
Japan plans to give three Beechcraft TC-90 King Air aircraft which can be fitted with basic air and surface surveillance radar. These aircraft would greatly boost the capability of the country in patrolling the West Philippine Sea. The aircraft would be a more practical alternative to the P-3C Orion aircraft which the Philippine military was requesting to be able to track Chinese submarine activities. I think the military was biting more than it could chew, as it takes a lot of training to operate the Orion, let alone maintain them, with the necessary support aircraft which we also do not have. Any aircraft donated to the military would be an instant improvement to its current inventory, especially for maritime patrols.
This gesture of Japan would certainly be frowned on by China, accusing both Japan and the Philippines of being in collusion against them. While Japan has no interests in the West Philippine Sea, they have their own territorial dispute with China. So they fully understand keeping China in check in terms of territorial claims. Japan believes that China does not have the right to just own the whole ocean.
We do have a good relationship with Japan. The donation of the aircraft strengthens that even further. Many countries are now starting to unite against China's massive expansionism in the West Philippine Sea. Just recently, members of ASEAN finally took a stand against China's reclamation and construction activities, calling for a halt in said activities. Japan, Australia and the US all agree that China's actions are illegal, and only present security concerns in the region, especially that of free use of the sea lanes. Despite what China claims as ensuring security in the region, nobody except one or two counties believe them. The area is seen by many as China's militarization of the area. Something that is always historically dangerous.
We do hope that many other countries see the seriousness of the situation, and how it could escalate into something nobody wants. We are still waiting for the UN decision on its jurisdiction on the matter the country has elevated. And while China claims that the reclamation has stopped, we know form the two-faced character of China that it only means that another phase has started. This would be the full-blown construction of structures, more specifically military, in order to establish their remote outposts in the West Philippine Sea. We have done what we could, on what little we have. It is for the more powerful countries to keep China in check, lest it goes the way of Nazi Germany or Imperialistic Japan.
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