China media: US-Philippines military deal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-27200858

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Media and experts urge Beijing to "remain on alert" in the wake of a new military agreement between Manila and Washington.

US President Barack Obama, who was in Manila on Sunday, said that the military pact, which allows a bigger US military presence in the country, would promote stability in the region.

The US president said the deal was not intended to contain China, with whom Manila is embroiled in a bitter territorial row.

"The 10-year defence agreement will embolden Manila to challenge China," Tian Fan, international affairs writer at the Xinhua News agency, tells the Qianjiang Evening News.

"However, the US will not get involved directly in the territorial disputes... The main focus of the region will remain on China and ASEAN's mutual development," he adds.

Jia Duqiang, a South East Asian studies expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, tells the China Daily that the pact serves as a component of "the Obama administration's ongoing plans to militarise issues that are rumbling in the Asia-Pacific region".

"We have seen Mr Obama press the need for defence co-operation with US allies in almost every stop of his Asian trip, which illustrates Washington's unchanged double approach in its dealings with China - dialogue plus coercion," he says.

"It is very apparent that the defence co-operation is targeted at China. The pact is part of Washington's strategy to strengthen its presence in the region, so China should remain on high alert," says an analyst on the Phoenix TV.

Charity appeal

Meanwhile, Chinese media outlets question the intentions of anti-nuclear protesters in Taiwan.

Police on Monday clashed with protesters demanding construction of Taiwan's fourth nuclear plant be stopped.

The ruling Kuomintang party has halted construction work at the nearly completed plant after close to 30,000 demonstrators blocked a busy street in Taipei on Sunday.

The protesters say they are worried over the safety of the plant as Taiwan is an earthquake-prone island.

An article in the state-run Haiwai website points out that the Taiwanese opposition camps are making use of the protest to gain political mileage.

"If there are no controversies, there will be nothing to fight about… The Democratic Progressive Party (opposition party) must be happy to champion the anti-nuclear cause," it says.

Chen Xiaoxing, senior editor of the People's Daily, notes that Sunday's demonstration comes weeks after students stormed and occupied the parliament house to protest against a trade pact with China.

"Such protests have become a trendy fashion in Taiwan, and a formula has been created: if you don't listen to us, we will surround you… When all the issues have been politicised, and the people have to resort to such occupations to express their views, you would wonder what will the future of Taiwan be," he writes in the Observer.

And finally, papers question wealthy Chinese people over charity after Microsoft founder Bill Gates urged rich Chinese to do more for the poor.

"There are many successful entrepreneurs and business people in China. I hope that more people of vision will put their talents to work to improve the lives of the poor in China and around the world," Mr Gates wrote in the People's Daily on Monday.

According to a commentary in the 21st Century Business Herald, China's top 100 philanthropists donated a total of 890m dollars (£529m) in 2013, compared to 7.7bn dollars (£4.6bn) given by the top 50 philanthropists in the US.

"The society needs to encourage and create the culture of giving... The mindset of the wealthy Chinese has to be changed too. In Chinese tradition, one has to hide one's capability, so some of these wealthy people would want to remain low profile and are not comfortable with charity efforts," it explains.

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