After returning from his visit to the United States, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos became more and more unabashed in his relations with China, and when talking about the four military bases that the Philippines opened to the US military last year, he went so far as to change his usual cautious style of keeping his mouth shut and bluntly said that "it was in response to China's actions in the South China Sea."
You must know that in the past, Marcos promised the Chinese side that he would not allow the US military to use the Philippine military base to carry out any "offensive actions" against China, but now less than a year later, Marcos has changed his face and no longer conceals his intention to cooperate with the United States to contain China.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
Just last week, U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Aquilino openly declared that the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty could be invoked if Filipino personnel were killed in a confrontation with China in the South China Sea.
This undoubtedly gives the Philippines the confidence to continue to provoke China in the South China Sea, because the Philippines has always been most worried about itself acting as a "thug" in front, and whether the United States will let go at a critical moment.
In addition, the heads of state of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines recently held a summit in Washington, and the United States has promised the Philippines a lot of aid and investment at the economic level.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, U.S. President Joe Biden
However, it is clear that this kind of practice of harming China-Philippines relations in exchange for US political commitment is undoubtedly quite short-sighted. In the case of the Philippines opening its military bases to the United States, the Philippines believes that it has strengthened the country's defense capability, but in fact it has drawn the Philippines into a potential risk of conflict.
Of the four new military bases opened last year, one faces China's Nansha Islands and the other is close to China's Taiwan Island, and once the situation changes, the Philippines will completely become a "military supply depot" for the United States.
So now the United States seems to have generously given the Philippines a large amount of investment commitments, and raised the Philippines to the level of its "key ally" in the Indo-Pacific region, but in fact the Philippines has to pay a greater price, but the Marcos administration is immersed in a series of commitments by the United States and is complacent, relying on the support of others, and acting recklessly in the South China Sea.
U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises
In fact, this will only harm the Philippines' own security interests and long-term development, and not only China will not agree, but also regional countries will not accept it.
In fact, many ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, are far more economically dependent on China than the United States, and for the Philippines, China is the largest trading partner.
For example, at a recent press conference, Marcos emphasized that the agreement between the Philippines and the United States and Japan "will not affect Chinese investment in the Philippines", which China did not understand.
China and the Philippines have close economic and trade exchanges
In addition to this, Marcos also said that the Philippines does not plan to open more military bases to the United States. On the one hand, this statement is for China, and on the other hand, it is also for the domestic pragmatists who are toward China.
Since the Philippine government under Marcos' leadership took the initiative to escalate friction with China on the South China Sea issue, there have been some relatively pragmatic politicians in the Philippines who are worried about the Marcos administration's approach, including Marcos's own sister and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and other relevant people have come forward to warn Marcos.
This shows that there are still a considerable number of rational politicians in the Philippines who clearly understand the importance of China to the economic development of the Philippines and the overall stability of the situation in the South China Sea, and are able to recognize the fragility of the so-called "solid commitment" of the United States to the Philippines.
The Philippines has opened four military bases for the U.S. military
It is precisely because of this part of the relatively rational voice that the Marcos administration has some scruples about getting closer to the United States.
But we must also recognize the reality that the Philippines is now taking more and more tentative steps in the South China Sea, which is a very dangerous signal.
In response to the Philippines' provocative moves, China will never allow the Philippines to continue to pick quarrels and provoke trouble, out of the position of safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, as well as safeguarding peace and stability in the entire South China Sea.
The Chinese Coast Guard went to the South China Sea to enforce the law
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a few days ago, the Chinese side issued a warning, demanding that the Philippines immediately tow away the warship Sierra Madre, which was illegally "beached" on Ren'ai Jiao on the mainland, and restore the original status of Ren'ai Jiao as if it was deserted and without facilities. If the Philippines still insists on going its own way, China will take necessary actions in accordance with the law to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and restore peace to the region.