East-Asia-Intel.com, April 25, 2012
Beijing’s state-run foreign broadcasting service has characterized growing tensions between China and the Philippines over territorial claims in the South China Sea as a trap set by the United States.
China Radio International said it would be a severe mistake for Beijing to take up arms against the Philippines for its bold challenge to China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and for the intense naval standoff with Chinese government vessels near Scarborough Shoal in recent weeks.
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In fact, China should understand that the real enemy in the South China Sea is not the Philippines but the United States, the broadcaster said.
A rush to war with the Philippines would fall exactly into the U.S. entrapment of luring China into an exhausting struggle with a small country, which would disable China’s capability to fight back when the U.S. deals China a knockout blow.
The text version of the broadcast was published April 18 by various official media outlets, including the People’s Daily, Xinhua and the Global Times.
Entitled "We Must Know Our Real Enemy in the South [China] Sea; Hasty Use of Force May Lead Us to a Devastating Defeat," the author, Xu Chaoqing, sounded a cautionary note against immediately declaring war on the Philippines during the weeks-old standoff.
"With our existing military power, we can finish off the several trouble-making little countries as easily as we flip one of our hands," the article said.
"But our real enemy, the U.S., will continue to make trouble for China in many other areas such as the problems in the East China Sea, our border problems with neighbors, the Taiwan problem, oil supply problem, human rights problem, the Chinese currency problem…the problems will never end and we cannot defend them all at the same time," he said.
"China should not fall into this endless trap deliberately designed by our adversary," the United States, Xu warned.
American Report 