Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The New Domino Theory


The "Domino Theory" was a geopolitical concept during the Cold War... that postulated that if one state in a region came under the control of Communism, the surrounding states would follow in a falling domino effect...

Dwight Eisenhower is the acknowledged father of the theory... when he mentioned the "falling domino" phenomenon in a speech describing the geopolitical conditions in SE Asia in 1954...

Today, the Damocles Sword of the "Domino Theory" is once again hanging over the heads of the peoples of SE Asia... this time the "dominoes" are not the individual states of the Region... but the islands, islets, reefs and shoals of the West Philippine Sea... the Domino Toppler, however, is still the same... Beijing...

This time, Beijing's primary weapon is no longer the Little Red Book of Chairman Mao... but real weapons for real wars... destroyers, nuclear submarines, stealth aircraft, and aircraft carriers...  backed by a Very Fat Checkbook...

Beijing now not only comes carrying a Big Stick... but to the delight of corrupt national leaders all over the world, with a Very Big Carrot as well...

Gone were the days of "you have nothing to lose but your chains and bonds"... "the meek shall inherit the earth but not its mineral rights" is now the new battlecry of Beijing...

The first Philippine domino fell when we lost Mischief Reef... now the second domino, Panatag Shoal, is also about to fall... next will probably be Recto Bank... then Pag-asa Island... and then... what will stop Beijing from grabbing Palawan?

Or even the Entire Country?




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