Is China really no. 1?

I just saw a news item in Yahoo Philippines claiming that China has now the biggest economy in the world.  This has taken me by surprise because, early this year, I checked the economic scoreboards and know for a fact that China is a distant No. 3 to the US (the EU is No. 1).  A sample excerpt from this news item is shown below:

'The International Monetary Fund recently released the latest numbers for the world economy. And when you measure national economic output in “real” terms of goods and services, China will this year produce $17.6 trillion - compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.A.'

So I made a quick Wiki and came up with the following:

Per IMF (2013 figures)

1. EU - $17.5T
2. US - $16.8T
3. China - $9.5T
4. Japan - $4.9T
12. ASEAN - $2.0T

Per World Bank (2013 figures)

1. EU - $17.4T
2. US - $16.8T
3. China - $9.2T
4. Japan - $4.9T
no data for ASEAN

So where did the discrepancy came from?  Apparently, the article used GDP figures based on PPP (Purchasing Power Parity).  Normally, national wealth is measured in terms of Nominal GDP figures, which has no adjustment for cost of living, but takes into account the value of economic output in international trade.

The release of the article to a primarily Philippine audience, therefore, is a little bit fishy to me.

Was this really meant to inform Mr. Average Filipino?...

Or was this a subtle psy-war move to erode our national will to resist Beijing's imperialist moves in the West Philippine Sea?...

POTUS did not mince any words on the on-going ASPAC territorial disputes instigated by Beijing...

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/99275/obama-warns-asian-territorial-disputes-could-spiral-into-confrontation

Is War Between the US and China Just a Matter of Time?

Unless Beijing reverses course on its present imperialist moves in the Asia-Pacific region, I cannot imagine any other alternative end-game scenario to this geopolitical chess game...

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/11/13/china_us_preparing_for_war_handshake_deal_pla_military_pentagon

ASEAN Summit: Myanmar did not do a Cambodia

By all appearances, Pres. Aquino was given a free rein to push Our Country's West Philippine Sea agenda at the recently-concluded ASEAN Summit in Myanmar.  This is in sharp contrast to what happened in 2012 at Cambodia.

It is possible that with the Damocles sword of the Rohingya crisis hanging over their heads, the leaders of Myanmar thought that they would need all the friends that they could get at the Summit.  Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei are definitely not too happy with what's happening to the Rohingyas right now.

But I think we are just seeing the independent streak of the Myanmarese at work here.  These people have always followed the beat of their own drums. 

Unlike Cambodia, Myanmar cannot just be pushed around to do Beijing's will.

Will Myanmar do a Cambodia at the ASEAN Summit?

Pres. Benigno Aquino III is expected to push for a legally-binding code of conduct in the disputed waters of the West Philippine Sea at Myanmar.

ASEAN members who have a more or less direct stake in the issue (i.e. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore) are expected to support this initiative.  The long-term integrity of their territorial possessions in the area will probably depend on it.

Some ASEAN members (take note, not all) who do not have a direct stake in the issue, on the other hand, might seize this as a golden opportunity to wrangle economic carrots from Beijing.

Cambodia played this stalking horse strategy in the past.  Expect them to do it again.

But in situations like this, the most valuable foreign policy Judas act of all from the viewpoint of Beijing will be that of the host.

Only the naïve, therefore, would still believe that, by this time, Beijing has not yet greased the proverbial wheel that will compel Myanmar to do a Brutus on the rest of us.

Et tu Myanmar?

First missile-firing warship for PH Navy due to arrive | ABS-CBN News

First missile-firing warship for PH Navy due to arrive | ABS-CBN News

was this a reporting gaff on one of the most reputable news network in the Philippines?... or was this a subtle warning to Beijing that the rules of the game in the West Philippine Sea are about to change... I guess we will know in the coming months...

Hamilton-class cutters were designed to be Harpoon-capable... the actual deployment of Harpoon ASMs on these ships, however, have never been confirmed nor denied by the US Government... probably because, it will not look politically-correct to equip civilian USCG vessels with a weapon system that can technically sink even an aircraft carrier...

Su-27: the air superiority fighter that the PAF will most likely encounter in the WPS

Will the Light MRF version of this aircraft be enough to address Beijing's counterstrike threat in the WPS?

Our July 24, 2013 Global Protests against China's aggression in the WPS....

July 24, 2013 - former Congressman and National Security Adviser Roilo Golez denouncing China's encroachments into Philippine National Territory...

Support the July 24, 2013 global peaceful rallies against Beijing's aggression in the West Philippine Sea...

And the West Philippine Sea Coalition is born...

Groups plan worldwide protest vs Chinese territorial incursions

more than a year after the Panatag Shoal stand-off... there appears to be no light yet at the end of the tunnel... in fact, Beijing is starting to make predatory moves targeting Ayungin Shoal...

the hearings on the arbitration case we filed with the UN are about to begin... our first ASM-equipped warship is about to arrive... the comings and goings of US warships in our Country have increased significantly... our National Government appears to be making all the right moves... what is only lacking is a highly-visible outpouring of popular support from the entire Filipino Global Diaspora... hopefully, the formation of the West Philippine Sea Coalition will be the catalyst to make this happen...

let us show the world what we can do on July 24, 2013... if you cannot physically make it to the protest locations... make your voice be heard through social media... if you are a Filipino who has immigrated to foreign lands... write to your government, and implore them to support the Philippine arbitration case vs. China in the UN...