Current issue between China, the Philippines and US: Connecting the dots

Just my few cents on this issue without going much into details.

China is the fastest growing economy in the world today that is set to overtake the US few decades from now. Naturally, the US would do something in order to slow this trend, if not to outright reverse it. China, on the other hand doesn't want problem in its own soil so it is buffering, or widening its sphere of influence so that the trouble that the US would do, would not come to the mainland. The logical thing to do is to extend the 'battle ground' to the nearest country and there is nothing between Philippines and Hongkong except the sea. This they have to do in order to preserve the stability and social order in their country; stability and social order that prepared their economy to what it is today.

The gist is this is just an issue of preemptive measure of China in anticipation of  US bullying and in return, China is defending its territory and went a step further, bullied another small country like the Philippines (buffering) so that whatever trouble may come from the US will not affect the mainland. 

In the meantime, a country like the Philippines is dragged into this geopolitical posturing. The Filipinos should not allow themselves to be pawns of these two big countries in competition for economic dominance in the world.