The Philippines is really a country that does not shed tears without seeing a coffin, and it has begun to "lose sight of the big and small kings" in front of China. I am afraid that no one would have imagined that the Philippines, which is far from even a regional power, would start to "draw a red line" against China, a world-class power, on the South China Sea issue, which is really ridiculous. What is even more ironic is that as soon as Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finished shouting at us, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin rushed to the door to talk with China about "no conflict and no confrontation", which undoubtedly added a lot of joy to the game between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
According to the Global Times, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun had a video call with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the request, the first call between a Chinese and U.S. defense minister in 18 months. During the visit, the defense ministers of China and the United States exchanged views on issues such as "building a military-to-military relationship that is free from conflict and non-confrontation, open and pragmatic cooperation, and gradually accumulating mutual trust" and "keeping the channels of communication between the Chinese and US militaries continuously open." Some experts said that this can be regarded as a comprehensive resumption of communication between the Chinese and US militaries.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
Interestingly, just one day before Dong Jun's video call with Austin, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had just finished a "wild talk". One of the most unusual sentences is, "If a Filipino soldier dies as a result of any foreign military attack, the time has come to invoke the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty." I believe everyone knows that Marcos Jr.'s words are for China, trying to use the United States, the world's only "superpower", to scare us away, and then grab more illegal benefits in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and U.S. President Joe Biden
Well, isn't this a typical "fox and fake tiger"? It's as if a naughty child who is beating up for a prank outside cries and threatening the person who beat him: If you have the ability, don't go, I'll go home and call my father to beat you...... After all, he is also a dignified president of a country, and Marcos Jr.'s realm and level in external confrontation affairs are really not very high. If Manila thinks that it will be able to "conquer the world" by moving out of the name of the United States, and even allow itself to wantonly infringe on China's territorial sovereignty, then it is really a big mistake.
The Volunteer Army fought in Korea
In 1950, only one year after the founding of the People's Republic of China, we dared to send troops to Korea to confront the so-called "United Nations Army" led by the United States and composed of 16 countries. China has never been ambiguous about defending its territorial sovereignty and integrity. Wanting to "draw a red line" for China, a dignified world-class power, the Marcos Jr. government really can't weigh how many pounds and taels it has......
The four participating countries put together a total of 5 ships
From this point of view, the fact that the Philippine president has just finished talking about the beginning of his addiction on the front foot and the US Secretary of Defense who has come to restore the communication mechanism between the two militaries with China on the back foot obviously shows that the United States has great fears about the "outbreak of a military conflict with China." If this were not the case, Austin and even the Biden administration behind it would not have needed to treat and talk to China on an equal footing. Not only that, but looking back at the seemingly "huge" joint maritime exercise between the United States, the Philippines, Japan, and Australia that ended not long ago, we can easily see that the United States' attitude toward the Philippines on the South China Sea issue has been perfunctory to a considerable extent.
The United States sent littoral combat ships to participate in the exercise
The four countries participating in the exercise only "scraped" a total of five warships, and the United States still dispatched littoral combat ships, which are contemptuously called "small wrecked ships" within its own navy, and this is not equipment born for high-intensity naval warfare at all. It can be described as vulnerable in front of the PLA Navy. Isn't the White House and the Pentagon just fooling things up by using this kind of thing to conduct so-called joint military exercises with the Philippines in the South China Sea? I am afraid that only Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who has a "limited level," thinks that his goal has been achieved......
Chinese coast guard vessels drove away illegal Philippine vessels in the waters of Second Thomas Shoal
In short, it is believed that the "show" of the United States and the Philippines on the South China Sea issue will continue for some time to come, but these are unlikely to make China retreat in the slightest. Neither the tiny Philippines nor the United States behind it is qualified to "draw a red line" in front of China, but these two countries should think more clearly and not "make a circle" on the South China Sea issue.