PARIS, FRANCE - President Benigno Aquino III believes that if China decides to pursue its so-called historical claims in South China Sea, the Asian superpower would not opt to attack the Philippine islands.
At a forum organized by Institut Francais des Relations Internationales held Thursday, Aquino said no amount of spin would justify an attack.
"If their prosperity is essential linked to their access to the world, doing the worst possible scenarios will not redound to them being able to have as we have access with the rest of the world or to the very least it will prove to be, shall we say, a hindrance to the regaining access to trade which they so need like we do," he said.
He said dramatic changes in the quality of life for the Chinese citizenry are fueled primarily by their country's engagements with the outside world.
He recalled that during his state visit to China in 2011, he and then President Hu Jintao agreed that the disputes in the waters are not the sum total of their engagements.
Aquino said China should not be worried about the intention or threat that the Philippines may pose.
"I point out that almost luckily, even if we were to engage in a boxing match with them, there are 13 of them for every one of us. Now, we talk about military might, the Philippines has tried in the debate between guns and butter, the classic ...question, has wanted to develop or send its resources more to the butter side of the equation than to the guns," he said.
He said the Philippines has only 132 ships in the naval force guarding 36,000 kilometers of coastline.
"They are not wooden sailing ships but they are World War II vintage. We have one...Sorry, I'll correct that, we have no fighter aircraft in our inventory, we have no bombers for that matter in our inventory. We are acquiring the skill sets again to be able to fly fighter jets. Fighter jets by definition will not have a large the naval people call it legs, the distance, the range they are able to travel," he said. - By Jorge Carino, ABS-CBN News
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