The USS Lassen is about to make history...

In the next 18 hours, the USS  Lassen will make passage within 12 nautical miles of the fake islands China constructed at Subi Reef and Mischief Reef.

How will China react?

Will she make a stand or just fade away nary a whimper, just like all bullies confronted by a much superior force?

This is all up to Xi Jinping.  If he thinks he can survive the political fallout from this humiliation, he will order his minions to stand down.  But if not, he will reach for the trigger.

The second option is not that remote of a possibility.  There are signs that all is not rosy in Xi Jinping Land.  The Chinese military establishment is starting to grumble at the heavy-handed manner Xi has been disposing of his perceived rivals under  the moral cloak of an anti-corruption crusade.  The humiliation the PLA will suffer at the hands of the USS Lassen will just might be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back.

But regardless which option Xi Jinping decides to take, the place in history of the USS Lassen and her crew is already assured.

Godspeed boys!  We are very proud of you!

Is this the real reason why the purchase of shore-based missiles from Israel was postponed?

I previously made a scathing post on the postponement of the Israeli shore-based missile acquisition in favor of infantry protective equipment... i am giving the AFP the benefit of the doubt in this post...

Based on the list of items to be purchased, the AFP appears to be preparing for some serious conventional warfare opposition... something which none of our internal threats are capable of...

Seriously, would you really need kevlar helmets, body armor, and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) equipment against the MILF or the NPA?... of course, no...

The AFP is preparing for someone with a heavier punch... someone capable of inflicting heavy casualties on large infantry formations unprotected by kevlar helmets and body armor... someone with NBC capabilities...

Who else could that be, except... China!

In case a shooting war erupts in the Spratlys, Uncle Sam can easily provide the air and sea muscle... but will have limitations in providing a significant number of boots on the ground...

This is where the AFP comes in...

And based on the urgency by which these purchases are being made... the expected date of the fireworks show appears to be very soon...

Our Military Budget should be 3.2% of GDP

When I proposed that the Philippines should make an effort to acquire the F-35 as our MRF, the prevailing negative feedback I got is that we cannot simply afford it.

This got me thinking....

How much can we really afford?

Have we already maxed-out our military spending potential?

So I checked out the 2014 military spending stats from the World Bank, and here it is:

WORLD RANK-COUNTRY-GDP%

1-Oman-11.8%

2-Saudi Arabia-10.8%

7-Israel-5.2%

12-Russian Fed-4.6%

21-USA-3.5%

25-Singapore-3.2%

27-Brunei-3.1%

32-South Korea-2.6%

34-India-2.4%

37-Vietnam-2.3%

40-France-2.2%

43-China-2.1%

44-UK-2.1%

54-Australia-1.8%

57-Cambodia-1.7%

62-Thailand-1.5%

64-Malaysia-1.5%

86-Germany-1.2%

91-Philippines-1.2%

105-Japan-1.0%

116-Indonesia-0.8%

Clearly, if we expect to stand-up to China, we should at least match her military spending.

But because we are a much smaller country, our best benchmark should probably be Singapore.

At 3.2% of Nominal GDP, our 2016 Defense Budget should be about $10.6 Billion ($330 Billion x 3.2%).

Give the AFP a budget equal to 3.2% of our GDP, and let us see whether we cannot still afford advanced weapon systems like Lockheed Martin's F-35...