Recently, the situation in the South China Sea has been heating up, which is caused by the fact that the Philippines has repeatedly sent ships to China's Ren'ai Jiao and other waters to take the initiative to provoke.
Originally, the Philippines took the initiative to provoke, but afterwards they reversed black and white and constantly portrayed the Philippines as a so-called "victim" in the field of international public opinion, in order to win the sympathy of the international community, or to get the United States and other countries outside the region to come and support them. It has to be said that the Philippines does have a set of means in reversing black and white.
The Philippines even claimed that 21 countries, including the United States, have publicly expressed support for the Philippines' actions in the South China Sea. Not only that, Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, recently released cruel words, stating that "if the Philippines is killed in the South China Sea, then the Philippines can invoke the "U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty", and the United States does not rule out direct trooping.
The news was released by Philippine media, which showed that Aquilino, the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, publicly stated at a recent hearing that the Philippines could invoke the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty if even one Philippine sailor or service member was killed.
Obviously, Aquilino's words are to cheer up the Philippines, and he wants to express: "The Philippines does not need to be afraid, it can continue to operate in the South China Sea, and if any soldier in the Philippines is killed, the United States may send troops."
This is nothing but a threat to China. China has made it clear in its statements that the South China Sea issue brooks no interference by any foreign country, including the United States. The resolution of the South China Sea issue is best placed in the ASEAN-China framework, and China opposes unilateral changes to the status quo in the South China Sea by all countries, including the Philippines.
In fact, although Aquilino has already issued a warning about the issue of the United States directly sending troops to help the Philippines in the event of a war in the South China Sea, he also expressed deep "concern", which is nothing more than a possible fear of the PLA's strong military strength.
Aquilino's concern is not that the US military will not be able to defeat the PLA in the South China Sea, but that some political decision-makers in the United States will not dare to make up their minds to go to war with China head-on. At the time, Aquilino told some U.S. lawmakers that if any Filipino soldier was killed, either the U.S. or the Philippines could invoke Article 5 of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty.
But if this does come the time, then U.S. policymakers will face a truly difficult choice. That's the point. Because there are too many things for US policymakers to consider, there will be a big question mark over whether they dare to really pass the bill to send troops to the Philippines when the time comes.
However, in any case, Aquilino's inappropriate remarks are likely to be greatly "encouraged" by the Marx government. In the future, the Philippines is likely to continue to intensify its provocations in the South China Sea, thus forcing the United States to promise more help to the Philippines, or even forcing the United States to directly "personally" take the action. Once the United States does come over, then the Philippines can completely rely on the absolute strength of the United States, thus trying to force China to make some compromises on the South China Sea issue, and it cannot be ruled out that the Philippines will reap the benefits of the fisherman at that time.
In fact, this Aquilino has always been a "hardliner" on China, and has repeatedly issued a series of threats on dealing with China and other issues.
For example, on March 20 this year, Aquilino publicly declared before the Armed Services Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress: "China is building a military and nuclear strength unprecedented since World War II." And these signs also show that the reason why the PLA has increased its military strength so much is likely to be preparing for the takeover campaign in advance, and it should take action before 2027."
It can also be seen from this that not only the South China Sea issue is involved in the Philippines, but Aquilino is also very tough on the Taiwan Strait issue. In the final analysis, he is not aiming at the tense situation around China, but at the whole of China, and we should also be highly vigilant in this regard.
The current South China Sea issue is indeed quite complex, and it is not only the United States and Western countries that are trying to interfere in the South China Sea in order to stir up regional tensions and contain China. Even India, another major Asian country, has openly expressed its support to the Philippines, and may even have reached some defense cooperation with the Philippines in areas such as maritime security.
If this series of situations continues, it cannot be ruled out that more countries outside the South China Sea will send warships to assemble in the South China Sea under the pretext of so-called helping the Philippines, which is by no means a good thing for China.
Of course, China's Ministry of National Defense has also made a statement on the South China Sea issue a few days ago, and the most important sentence is that China has a sufficient strategic definition for resolving the South China Sea issue.
What does this mean? It is more like an explanation to external forces that although some forms of intervention are likely to occur, including from the United States, China is still fully aware of the evolution of the situation in the South China Sea.
This also shows that it is impossible for China to concede half a step in defending its sovereignty over islands and reefs, and although it is more difficult, China still has all the strength to ensure the integrity of China's sovereignty over islands and reefs. No matter what the Philippines does, such as constantly enlisting foreign forces to support it, it will be in vain in the end, and it is more likely that it will pay a heavy price.
The major islands and reefs in the South China Sea have been China's inalienable sovereignty since ancient times, and there is no room for the slightest dispute. As for the Philippines, if it really tries to use the power of the United States to continue to forcibly provoke in the South China Sea, it will certainly not end well in the end. It is hoped that the Marx government will keep its eyes open as soon as possible and take a serious and clear view of the situation.