Sino-Philippine relations continue to disintegrate as China aggressively expands its borders within Philippine territory.

The Philippine Defense Department is claiming that China is illegally laying concrete blocks along the Scarborough Shoal which begs the uestion! will it be "ischief #eef redux$ %ith the &rmed 'orces of the Philippines preoccupied with the (amboanga crisis! the Philippine )avy expanding its presence in South China Sea! and the increased presence of *S forces in the country! is there an impending war between the "iddle +ingdom and the Pearl of the ,rient Sea$ &merican Political Scientist -oseph )ye defines power as the ability to affect others to get the outcomes one wants! and that can be accomplished in three ways. by coercion! payment! or attraction. /ow does China define soft power$ 0s it derived from it being an economic powerhouse$ &re they using it as a tool to ac uire respect from their neighbors$ ,r is it the first step of Chinese expansionism in &sia$ The uestions and possibilities are endless. &ccording to )ye! soft power rests on three resources. culture! political values and foreign policies. 'ollowing )ye1s formula! China is an ubi uitous presence in Philippine culture. 2inondo is the oldest established Chinatown in the world! feng shui is embedded in Catholic ritualism! and the country owes its fairly burgeoning economy to the 'ilipino-Chinese. &ssimilating Chinese political values and its foreign policies in a country constantly bullied as regards its borders is another matter worthy of study. &rguably! the crux of soft power is the behavior of the state that makes it respectable! trusted! and admired by the international community. /owever! this is not the case with China. Sino-Philippine tensions continue to worsen! 3ietnam remains guarded! and Taiwan is still asserting its sovereignty as an independent and separate state from "ainland China. Should China continue to use soft power as a means to achieve what it wants! it needs to be critical of its behavior and the reception of the international community to effectively wield it as a viable weapon of expansion. 0n lieu of China1s insertion in disputed territory! the Philippine government continuously assures its citi4ens that it is capable of defending the country against China. The outcome is a different issue. The country can win through law or diplomacy! or it can opt for the use of tangible force against China. /owever! a good number of neti4ens opine that should a war ensue! the Philippines is a sitting duck to Chinese forces. Supporting this claim of assurance! President 2enigno &guino 000 said that the government intends to moderni4e the &rmed 'orces of the Philippines by procuring three multi-purpose attack crafts! eight amphibious vehicles! two frigates and anti-submarine warfare-capable helicopters for the navy and the military. 0n terms of global firepower! the Philippines ranks thirty-one in a total of sixty eight countries! while China ranks third. )umbers can limit a strategic perspective but it can provide an elegant template for immediate solutions such as the moderni4ation of the military. The expansion strategy is almost two decades old! when a power vacuum by the withdrawal of *nited States military forces in 5665. China 7reasserted8 its historic title to islands including the Spratlys despite the absence of an

international legal ground. The expansion alarmed several nations namely the *nited States! -apan! &ustralia and 0ndia. 0f the claim of China is permitted to hold! will it end international and communal en9oyment of international waters or will it expand the military capabilities of China$ 2eyond the precipice of expansionism is the Chinese Dream. :i -inping! the new leader of China! explains that the core of the ideological context is the commitment of the Sleeping Dragon to national re9uvenation and the involvement of its citi4ens in the imminent rise of China. :i achieved what every other 'ilipino president wanted - to re-establish the connection between the government and its people! and the achievement of a dream as a collective struggle that can only be achieved as a united nation. Perhaps! the singular and gargantuan land mass of China that made it possible for :i -inping. ;iven the strong case of regionalism amongst Philippine islands! coming together under a unified banner is only achievable when its citi4ens are prompted by social media to rally against corruption. ,ther than that! typical 'ilipino values mandate that the internet is a battle ground against rude foreigners and its own relatively rebellious citi4ens. &s the masses fight a heated exchange in the cyberworld! the &rmed 'orces uelling urban warfare in (amboanga City! and the Senate probing into the )apoles case! little do its citi4ens reali4e the pivotal role that the Philippines will have in containing or strengthening China. The claim of 2ei9ing that the whole South China Sea! which includes the %est Philippine Sea! has served as an excuse for the *nited States to increase military activity in the country. China1s assertion of sovereignty over the region does not e uate to the monopoly of international trade but it sets as a precept to regulate passage by re uiring strict measures to ac uire a permit. &sian neighbors fear that China might expand the malleable nine or ten-dash line. ,n "ay 6! <=5<! a news anchor of a state-run T3 network in China declared that the Philippines belonged to China. &lthough the use of the name of the country was accidental! 'ilipinos needed to defend their wounded pride as an independent nation. 2ut to understand why China is expanding aggressively! it is essential for the recipient of aggression to understand how China sees the world. ,ne! it sees itself as a proud! ancient civili4ation with unmatched technologies> two! it views the west as oppressors> and three! immediate neighboring countries might as well belong to China. The third statement is merely con9ecture> however! the possibility that the Philippines might become part of Chinese territory is open to debate. 0n an alternate timeline where the country becomes a province of China> will the Philippines be special administrative regions like "acau and /ong +ong$ %ill the 2angsamoro #epublic allow another usurpation of their land$ Can the annexing harmoni4e two kinds of political culture$ There is a multitude of possibilities.