THEY SHOULD HAVE NAMED THE SOUTH CHINA SEA THE NORTH PHILIPPINES SEA

The Philippines has taken China to court (and won) but China has told the court to shove its decision up where the sun does not shine. China has warned the world that it will resort to war to defend its territory — and this territory is the South China Sea, which belongs to China (if not it would have been named the North Philippines Sea).

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Some time ago I wrote about why the US invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein 13 years ago. At that time I gave my ‘crazy’ prognosis, which no one really took any notice of and probably thought this was just one more of my many nonsensical articles.

Over the period of the 1990s I made ten trips to China in total and every few months when I landed in Shanghai, Pudong, or some other commercial and industrial city of China, I noticed that in just a few months since my previous trip so much had changed.

My wife, Marina, followed me on those trips and I remarked to her that by 2010 to 2020 China is going to be the new world economic power. Once Hong Kong goes back to China in 1997 and if Taiwan and China can merge (at least economically if not politically/administratively) then China is going to overtake the US as the new global economic power.

This was what I told Marina in the 1990s just before Hong Kong went back to China.

But then there is one problem with this, I told Marina. Economic powers always want to also become military powers. And this would mean China would also want to take over from the US as the regional or even global military power.

Then some defence experts came out with a thesis that if a Third World War ever erupts it is going to be fought in the South China Sea. And China would be the one who will trigger this war, said the defence experts.

I told Marina, “There you are. Is this not what I have been saying all along?”

Then, in 2003, the US, British and allied forces attacked Iraq on the excuse that Iraq had WMDs, which has now been proven bogus. Even back then 13 years ago I had written that the real reason the allies invaded Iraq was to stop them from selling oil to China.

The US, I said, was wary of China and they were worried that if China managed to get (cheap) oil from Iraq then China’s economy would strengthen and this would not be in the interest of the US. Furthermore, once China becomes economically powerful it would want to also become a military power and that would mean it would grab all the territory in the South China Sea.

What many do not know is that China has been eyeing the South China Sea since the 1970s and has been making secret forays into that area but mostly below the radar. The Malaysian military, however, was monitoring China’s activities in the South China Sea but did not want to make so much noise about it in case it causes a panic.

There is also a story told, but only amongst the military people and never repeated outside that circle, about an incident involving Malaysian and Chinese commandos on one of the islands. For obvious reasons Malaysia does not want this story told because the Chinese ended up losing this skirmish so it may be better that they just keep silent about it lest the Chinese feel they have lost face and start seeking revenge.

But then many, Muslims included, clapped and cheered when the allied forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam. They thought this was just about toppling an evil Muslim dictator who is hiding WMDs under his bed and who is a threat to world peace.

I said this is not the reason and that the real reason is China. The US wanted to stop the flow of oil to China to make sure that China never emerges as an economic power, let alone a military power, and that if China does emerge as an economic power, and then a military power, then there is going to be trouble in the South China Sea and maybe even a Third World War.

The irony of this whole thing, though, is that since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world’s top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer. China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields (READ MORE HERE).

I suppose for people to take me seriously I need a PhD after my name. Even when I write about the history of Christianity and Islam, Christians and Muslims whack me and tell me I am not qualified to talk about Christianity and Islam. They then quote verses from the Bible or Qur’an to prove me wrong.

These people cannot understand the difference between history and theology. When I talk history they reply with theology. I suppose if I were to talk about mathematics they will rebut me with geography. Aren’t these Christians and Muslims just plain morons?

The invasion of Iraq was not about Islam or about Islamic terrorism. I believed then it was about China and oil, and I still believe that until today. Maybe 20 years from now my theory would be proven wrong but until then I stand by my theory.

Anyhow, 911 — that happened just 18 months before the invasion — was still fresh in everyone’s minds. So the invasion of Iraq to oust a terrorist dictator made sense then. Today we know that the WMD issue was a red herring after all. Nevertheless, Iraq is in a mess and China is rapidly emerging as the ‘new Iraq’ of Asia (meaning a country with expansionist tendencies).

The Philippines has taken China to court (and won) but China has told the court to shove its decision up where the sun does not shine. China has warned the world that it will resort to war to defend its territory — and this territory is the South China Sea, which belongs to China (if not it would have been named the North Philippines Sea).

So there you are. Muslims and Christians are so gullible. The Iraq invasion was in the interest of world peace. The War on Terror is not a war on Islam but a war to maintain world peace. Do you know that the latest report published last week in the UK says that the Islamic State (or ISIS, ISIL, Daesh, etc.) is the result of the Iraq invasion and that the ousting of Saddam actually created more problems than it solved?