A few days ago, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Aquilino said that in the event of casualties on the Philippine side, they can invoke the "U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty". The remarks came against the backdrop of the recent use of water cannons by the Chinese Coast Guard to drive away Philippine vessels attempting to encroach on Second Thomas Shoal. #军史观察团#
Obviously, Aquilino's move is obviously intended to encourage the Philippines to continue to stage a porcelain drama. And once the situation escalates or gets out of control, the US military will not sit idly by. In other words, Aquilino's statement is equivalent to offering the Philippines so-called conditions.
It is worth noting that before this, US Secretary of Defense Austin had already emphasized in a phone call with the Philippine Secretary of Defense that they had a so-called "steely" defense commitment to the Philippines, and focused on the fact that the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty also applies to Philippine coast guard ships and official ships. Therefore, we speculate that Aquilino, as the commander of the front-line troops, further elaborated on the so-called commitment to the Philippines in order to build greater confidence in the Philippines.
In response to the collusion and provocation by the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea over the past period, the mainland defense department has made it clear that the PLA is ready to deal with emergencies. From the perspective of the US side, they may have a concern that the Philippines may step on the brakes in the face of China's solemn warning. The reason is simple, the Philippines has repeatedly stressed before that they have no intention of clashing with China. Although such a statement seems to lack credibility, from another perspective, the Philippines wants to convey that it is at least not ready for conflict with China. And when it will be ready depends largely on the strength of US support. After all, the Philippines is not capable of clashing with China as a "proxy" of the United States, no matter how you look at it.
Based on this background, in order to boost the confidence of the Philippines, the United States naturally needs to come up with some "dry goods". For example, we will unite more countries to participate in joint exercises between the United States and the Philippines, and make the United States' defense commitments to the Philippines more concrete. Only in this way will it be possible for the Philippines to move further in the direction of the South China Sea. Otherwise, if every provocation is driven away by warning, the morale of the Philippines itself will also be greatly affected.
In addition, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has already claimed that so-called countermeasures will be taken in the South China Sea in the coming months. In order to push the Philippines to speed up this process, or to make these countermeasures of the Philippines achieve better results, the US side really needs to give the Philippines some "peace of mind".
Therefore, we can see that in addition to the so-called conditions for participation in the war set by the commander of the US military and the large-scale joint exercises of the United States and the Philippines in April, which have basically finalized the schedule, there is also news from the Japanese side that Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia all hope to strengthen ties with the Philippines in the field of security in order to counter the so-called growing military activities of only China in the Indo-Pacific region, including increasing the frequency of joint exercises in the region and sharing advanced technology. Not only that, but perhaps in order to make its commitments to the Philippines appear more real and credible, the US side has also made some "preparations" for war.
According to US media reports, the US Marine Corps recently established a littoral regiment to enhance the US military's combat capability against the enemy in the western Pacific region. In addition to providing wartime intelligence to the U.S. and allied forces, they will also be able to use medium-range missiles to work with the U.S. Navy and Air Force against "enemy" warships when necessary. In other words, after the Philippines invokes the "US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty," the US military littoral regiment is likely to send coordinates and other information to the US navy, air force, or allied countries' armies as soon as possible. In this way, the U.S. military can provide support quickly.
Then, the Philippine Ministry of Defense issued a special statement, clamoring that it would not give in in the South China Sea, perhaps it is not so difficult to understand, to put it bluntly, it is the recent series of actions of the United States that have greatly boosted the confidence of the Philippines. Although they have not yet made further progress in the South China Sea, it is foreseeable that with the imminent large-scale joint exercise between the United States and the Philippines in April, and the United States, Japan and Australia and other countries waving their flags and shouting, the Philippines is likely to take more provocative actions in the future.
However, whether it is the Philippines, the United States, or other countries that try to meddle in China's Philippine maritime issues, their verbal or physical threats and clamors are in vain.
According to a report by Huanqiu.com, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently held an actual combat drill in the South China Sea, simulating a strike and sinking an "enemy armed fishing boat". The PLA's signal to the outside world at this time is undoubtedly very strong. In other words, as long as the United States and the Philippines and other countries dare to take further steps in the South China Sea, the PLA will definitely not relent.
Therefore, we advise the Philippines not to be obsessed. Although we have sufficient strategic determination to resolve the South China Sea issue, if the Philippines insists on enlisting foreign forces to infringe on China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, the PLA will resolutely retaliate.