Quote:The Philippines is BOOMING — and this might be the biggest economic transformation in Asia that no one's paying attention to. While global superpowers like China and the U.S. dominate headlines, the Philippines is quietly rising with unstoppable momentum. In this video, we uncover how the Philippines went from being overlooked… to becoming a serious contender for Asia’s next superpower. ? What's inside: – The shocking 2024 GDP growth that stunned economists – $35B in military upgrades and secret global alliances – South China Sea tensions and the Philippines' bold response – Rare earth minerals that could reshape global supply chains – A youth-driven digital revolution – Energy crisis turning into an innovation opportunity

Quote:SHANGRI-LA: French President Macron Calls for Independent Coalition Between Europe, Asia

French President Emmanuel Macron called for European and Asian countries to build a coalition of independent countries to maintain strategic autonomy on Friday night while speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore In his keynote address, the president said other countries shouldn’t be caught between United States and China, and warned that if Russia was allowed to take Ukraine territory, it would lead to similar situations in Taiwan and the Philippines.



While France is a European nation, Macron pointed out that it is also an Indo-Pacific participant with overseas territories and over 8,000 military personnel stationed in the South Pacific. France has also carried out numerous military activities and engagements with its partners in the region, including the recent deployment of the Charles De Gaulle Carrier Strike Group to the Pacific.


Macron said the world is threatened by a global division between the two superpowers, the U.S. and China, with all other countries forced to choose a side. “If we do so we will kill the global order and we will destroy methodically all the institutions we created after the Second World War in order to preserve peace and to have cooperation on health, on climate, on human rights and so on,” said the French President.

The unpredictability of U.S. tariffs jeopardizes the prosperity of both Asia and Europe, Macron said, making it harder for countries to finance defense programs. He called on countries from both continents to build an independent coalition to “ensure with others that our countries are not collateral victims of the imbalances linked to the choices made by the superpowers.”

Even so, Macron stressed that France is an ally of the United States and a trading partner with China. “We do cooperate, even if sometimes we disagree and compete,” he said. France will continue to cooperate with the United States, but in a way that protects its own interests… We don’t want to be instructed on a daily basis what is allowed, what is not allowed and how our life will change because of the decision of a single person,” he said.

The French President referred to Russia and China in his speech as “revisionist countries” that “want to control areas from the fringes of Europe to the archipelago in the South China Sea at the exclusion of regional partners, oblivious to international law, countries that want to appropriate resources whether fishing or mineral and crowd out others from their benefit.”

Macron also defended Europe’s focus on preventing Russia from occupying Ukraine as critical to the international order.

“If we consider that Russia could be allowed to take a part of the territory of Ukraine without any restriction, without any constraint, without any reaction of the global order, how would you phrase what could happen in Taiwan? What will you do the day something happens in the Philippines?” he asked.
Macron also said that North Korea is developing a massive nuclear arsenal unconstrained by China and partnering with Russia in its war with Ukraine. The French President stated that he used to oppose NATO’s involvement in Asia and the alliance should focus, as its name suggests, on the North Atlantic and avoid getting in the middle of strategic rivalries. That has changed, he said, since North Korea is meddling in Europe. “This is why, if China doesn’t want NATO being involved in Southeast Asia or in Asia, they should prevent clearly the DPRK [from being] engaged on European soil,” he said.

France is undertaking a strategic review, the French President added and would be announcing a new Indo-Pacific strategy in the weeks to come.

China’s defense minister was absent from this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue for the first time since the conference began – though it was canceled due to COVID in 2020 and 2021. The Chinese defense minister typically outlined and defended China’s strategic outlook and actions on the second day of the conference, which also provided an opportunity to rebut statements from the U.S. Defense Secretary’s speech on the first day. The gathering’s bilateral and multilateral meetings between the defense ministers and senior military officers are considered even more critical than the symposium’s speeches, making it unusual that this year China only sent Maj. Gen. Hu Gangfeng, the vice president of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) National Defense University.

Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Snr. Col. Zhang Xiaogang did not address questions about the defense minister’s absence from the Shangri-La Dialogue during a Thursday press conference. He stated that the delegation of the PLA National Defense University will participate.

China Defense Minister Adm. Dong Jun spoke at last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue and met with then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Over the last month, Dong has been conducting engagements with overseas countries as normal, including official visits in France and Germany from May 11-17 that included discussions with French Minister for Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. Dong also attended the 6th UN Peacekeeping Ministerial Conference held in Berlin, Germany. China may be trying to encourage participation in the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which normally takes place around the end of the year. Countries typically send their deputy defense ministers and lower-ranking military officers as delegates to the Xiangshan Forum normally send their defense ministers and head of armed forces to Shangri-La.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is scheduled to make his debut at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday morning. He arrived on Thursday in Singapore and began a full day of activities starting with morning PT with sailors from destroyer USS Dewey (DDG-105), docked at Sembawang port, followed by a breakfast meeting with Singapore Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

A Singapore Ministry of Defense release stated that both defense leaders reaffirmed the bilateral defense relationship and the partnership anchored by the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore.

Hegseth and Chan agreed the U.S.’ continued engagement in the Asia-Pacific is vital for regional peace, stability and prosperity, according to the release. Hegseth also expressed appreciation for Singapore’s consistent support for the U.S. military presence in and engagement of the region, including Singapore’s facilitation of rotational deployments, port calls, and aircraft stopovers by U.S. aircraft and vessels.

The release expressed Chan’s appreciation for longstanding American military support, including training for Singapore personnel in the U.S. and access to technology like the F-35 aircraft program. Secretary Hegseth reaffirmed the U.S.’ commitment to supporting the SAF’s high-end training and technology access.

Hegseth then held a meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles at the U.S. Embassy and another with the Marine Corps embassy detachment, followed by a call on Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The Secretary of Defense then returned to the Shangri-La Hotel where he held bilateral meetings with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Phumtham Wechayachai and Philippines Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro Jr., as well as an informal meeting with defense ministers of countries from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), where he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to South East Asia, according to a Singapore Ministry of Defense release.

(05-31-2025, 07:10 AM)Bally002 Wrote: Mah Cron got the slap. Who can take him serious from now on.

Bally

(05-31-2025, 07:48 AM)F2d5thCav Wrote:

(05-31-2025, 07:10 AM)Bally002 Wrote: Mah Cron got the slap. Who can take him serious from now on.

Bally

He made Daddy unhappy.