When the public's attention was focused on the G20 summit, there was some movement around China, and there were two major events: first, the Philippines reached an agreement with the United States, and the latter will assist the former in building military bases; Second, US Vice President Harris will visit the Philippines in person, but the landing place of the special plane is somewhat special, not in the Philippine capital, but on Palawan Island, which is close to the mainland's Nansha Islands. This series of moves by the United States and the Philippines shows that between China and the United States, the Marcos Jr. government has not continued the balanced policy of the Lao Du period, but seems to have shown a bias.
Recently, the Philippine Department of Defense announced that in the next two years, the United States will build three military facilities for the Philippines under the framework of the "Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement" between the two countries to meet current security challenges. The United States will also allocate $66.5 million for this purpose.
On the surface, the United States pays for the construction of military bases for the Philippines, which looks like a good ally, but in fact, it pretends to be a bad water for the United States. From the location of these three military bases, they are in the province of Nueva Essija, Pampanga and Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines, the former two are located in the northern Philippines, the latter is located in the south, while the northern Philippines faces the mainland Taiwan Strait area, and the southern part is adjacent to the mainland Nansha Islands.
Recently, because the number three figure in the US Government has violated the core interests of the mainland, the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become tense. Today, this move by the United States and the Philippines is undoubtedly exacerbating tensions, and the United States is eyeing the next two years, and its Sima Zhao's heart is known to passers-by.
At the same time, also a few days ago, senior US government officials released news that US Vice President Harris will visit the Philippines on the 22nd of this month, but not to the Philippine capital, but to Palawan, an island in the Philippines close to the mainland's Nansha Islands.
Moreover, the official claimed that Harris's trip showed that the United States remains committed to standing with the Philippines to jointly uphold the rules-based international maritime order in the South China Sea, and once again repeats some issues against China, such as illegal fishing.
The South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait have always been sensitive topics between China and the Philippines, and during the Duterte period, Lao Du chose to put the cooperation between the two countries above these sensitive topics, so that the Philippines can promote and develop its economy through friendly cooperation with China, so that the cooperation between the two countries is in a golden age.
However, after the Marcos Jr. government came to power, while opening the door to the US military, and inviting Harris to the South China Sea, these practices all show that the Sino-US balance policy of the Lao Du period, the Marcos Jr. government may have been left behind, and at the military level, the Marcos Jr. government chose to rely entirely on the United States.
In fact, the Marcos Jr. government is well aware of how much benefit the Philippines can bring to the Philippines by good relations between China and the Philippines, and the Philippine side has repeatedly stated that the cooperation between the two countries is greater than the South China Sea issue, and said that the South China Sea issue should be resolved by the two countries themselves. Now, the Marcos Jr. government has said one thing and done another, opened the door to the US military, lured wolves into the house, and pointed the sword in the direction of the mainland South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
It is worth noting that this practice of the Philippines has traces to follow. Previously, Philippine security advisers have said that in terms of trade, if China provides something to the Philippines, the Philippines will accept it, and in terms of security, the Philippines will also consider the US proposal. It now appears that Marcos Jr.'s government has made a choice, and in military terms, it is largely subordinate to American commands.
But the idea of the Marcos Jr. government is too naïve, the Philippines obediently cooperates with the United States and threatens the core interests of the mainland, if it really hurts Sino-Philippine relations one day, then the Philippines still wants to get the benefits of cooperation from China, is it possible to achieve it? In fact, the Philippines' cooperation with the United States may not only harm the friendly relations between China and the Philippines, but also introduce the scourge of the United States into the Asia-Pacific region and eventually affect itself.