The Fourth Perspective

History is a cycle; it perpetuates itself time and again, capitalizing on human weakness and the gullibility of the uninformed and the misinformed. It is akin to a hammer that persistently pounds on an unmoving nail till it sink way over its head. Imperialism, Hegemony, and Colonization are old cliché, and they always refer to one thing... Dominance. The imperialist of the modern times find it less costly to employ soft power to achieve control and dominance, and that what OBOR is all about. China ’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative will be the modern equivalent of China ’s Silk Road , established more than 2000 years ago. The Silk Road was a web of trade routes that had connected China to the countries in the Middle East, and certain parts of Asia .  Its sole objective then was to market Chinese Silk beyond its border. The OBOR on the other hand, is partly and similarly aimed, to create a network of infrastructures like roads, railways, roads, pipelines, and utility gri...

It’s not improbable, in fact, it’s possible and doable. In about three years the Philippine Navy may be able to possess a number of naval carriers as arsenal ships or as platforms for anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, Long Range Multiple Launch Rocket System (LR-MLRS) and helicopters, if and only if, the Philippine Navy, and the government at large, will abandon the tenets of orthodoxy and traditionalism in the procurement of military assets. Hence, in the process of reinventing itself, it may find prudence and the practicality, of using the hulls and superstructures of five to ten years old merchant ships, available for sale in the world market. The size and dimension of which, may depend on its intended purpose. The Strategic Sea Lift Vessels (SSV) procured from Indonesia ’s PT PAL had cost the Armed Forces roughly around US$ 160 million; both SSV has an average length of 123 meters. The equivalent amount of money which may be allotted for future SSV may largely be use...

Any avenue of approach in a war zone is a kill zone, be it an urban pave-ways or rural settings. The AFP have been sustaining unusually high casualties, resultant of inadequate armor and fire support. Individual infantry men were fully exposed while in marches on unfamiliar terrain towards the insurgent’s lair. Military vehicles have to traverse enemy territories without the security of protective armor (metal plates, chopped tree-trunks mounted on side of vehicles, sand bags, etc.).  Corollary, essential intelligence can easily be obtained in advance through aerial reconnaissance even before convoys proceed towards its destination. While the latter can be provided by available and inexpensive technology like drones, its utilization had remained an exception rather than the rule. Insurgent’s stationery bunkers/ fortifications greatly offset the AFP’s numerical advantage, that otherwise can easily be eliminated by an explosive blast. Sniper behind hard cover, like the inside of bui...