The Philippines is regarded as a key component in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy. But compared to Tokyo and Canberra, which take on more aggressive roles, Manila, in the heart of Washington, is merely a stick used to muddy the waters of the South China Sea. In other words, the US aims to use the Philippines to continue escalating the China-Philippines dispute in the South China Sea and disrupt the friendly atmosphere of consultation between China and Southeast Asian countries on the South China Sea issue.
The Philippines on Friday condemned China, stating that a Chinese coast guard ship on Wednesday came within a meter of colliding with a Philippine patrol ship near Renai Reef. It accused China of conducting "the closest dangerous maneuver."
Beijing and Manila have already had several rounds of clashes in the South China Sea in recent months. This time, the Philippines actions have once again confirmed a concerning trend: It has joined forces with the US to stir up new troubles in the South China Sea, becoming a destabilizing force in the Asia-Pacific region.
Under the general context of the Joe Biden administrations push for military and political cooperation with the Philippines based on the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr abandoned his predecessors rather friendly policy toward China after he came to power. Instead, he focused more on using the enchantment of ties with the US to promote the development of his countrys military capabilities, hoping to consolidate domestic support. In addition, by constantly provoking troubles with China in the South China Sea, Manila wants to test how strong the US-Philippines alliance is.
As tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea grow, Washington and Manila kicked off Maritime Training Activity Sama Sama 2023 off the Philippine coast on Monday. The main character in these military drills that will run through October 13, in fact, is still the US, which is purely exploiting the Philippines close geographic location to China and its South China Sea disputes with China. Under the pretext of "addressing a spectrum of security threats and enhancing interoperability," Washington is targeting China through the Sama Sama drills.
Seeking to form more closed, confrontational minilateral mechanisms in the region similar to the Quad and AUKUS, Washington is glad to see Manila play a certain role in the vision of its Indo-Pacific Strategy. However, once the Philippines decides to tie itself up to the US chariot, it will certainly go against the idea of ASEAN as a whole - These countries dont want the region to become a battleground for great power competitions, nor do they want to become proxies for great powers.
夜上海最新论坛
During the Rodrigo Duterte administration, the pragmatic and win-win cooperation between China and the Philippines has contributed much to the development of China, and the Philippines especially. If the Marcos Jr administration continues to drift off course in the South China Sea, turning the region into a sea of instability and driving China-Philippines relations into the vortex of conflicts, a disaster for the Philippines is inevitable, which will bring new uncertainties to bilateral ties and regional stability.
Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times that if the Philippines, at the instigation of the US, turns into a bridgehead against China, it could become a battleground if the conflict escalates and this will plunge the country into the abyss of irretrievable losses. Therefore, the Marcos Jr administration needs to realize that the Philippines is only a pawn of the US and that Washington cannot be trusted.
It is not China that has pushed the Philippines toward the US, but the US that has forced ASEAN countries, particularly those that have disputes with China, to pick a side. China has never and will never pressure any ASEAN country, including the Philippines, to make a choice between siding with China or the US. As a peace-loving country, it always pursues to set aside the disputes in the South China Sea. At the same time, the direct communications channel between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea issue is still open, while Beijing has shown willingness to proactively engage in dialogues with Manila.
China and ASEAN countries should carry on with consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, to strengthen bilateral cooperation and turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, stability and win-win cooperation, instead of becoming a region of conflict and trouble under the constant involvement of extraterritorial countries.
相关文章Intl conference opens in Xi’an to discuss sustainability of ancient architectureAiming to find paths for the sustainable development of ancient walls and castle legacies around the world, an international conference was recently held in Xian, in Northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province. The event was named the "2023 International Ancient Walls and Castles Alliance Conference." This years agenda focused on the protection and sustainable development of ancient […]
China plays a critical role within BRICS; GDI, GSI, GCI winning widespread support: African professor
Editors Note: The 15th BRICS Summit, scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 22 to 24, has garnered substantial international attention. This summit holds significant importance in prompting discussions on various fronts. Within the BRICS framework, what role does China play? How do African people view the cooperation between China and Africa? […]
Despite slander from West, China positions itself for higher levels of developmentSince the beginning of this year, there have been a growing number of false allegations from the West. They have consistently propagated the idea that the Chinese economy is teetering on the edge of imminent decline and collapse. These discussions have gone so far as to suggest strategies for managing this perceived crisis, portraying Chinas […]
US-led drills create problem, not solutionUS-based Stars and Stripes reported that in mid-September drills featuring the USS America amphibious assault ship along with warships from South Korea and Canada were "in response to continuing tension with North Korea." The same report noted that the US and South Korea have carried out a number of exercises this summer alone around the […]
还没有评论,来说两句吧...