The Washington Post, citing multiple officials, said the Philippines and the United States are preparing for upcoming joint military exercises, according to Russia's Sputnik news agency. The exercise is the first time since the start of the annual exercise in 1991 that the Philippines and the United States will conduct a joint naval exercise in disputed waters in the South China Sea, 12 nautical miles beyond Philippine territorial waters. More than 16,000 troops from both militaries participated in the exercise, which focused on responding to sea and air attacks.
One of the operations, officials said, was for troops to occupy two islands off the western and northern coasts of the Philippines at the same time and deliver high-mobility artillery rocket systems to the islands for live-fire exercises. In another operation, Philippine Navy ships will demonstrate for the first time newly acquired shipborne missile systems, working with a U.S. Air Force squadron to attack and sink a decommissioned ship.
"Shoulder to Shoulder" is the largest annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine militaries and will be held from April 22 to May 10 this year. Before the Washington Post introduced the military exercise, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos talked about the joint military exercise when he met with foreign media in Manila. Marcos said that Japan's Self-Defense Forces will officially join the US-Philippine military exercises starting next year and welcomed them.
It has been learned that before Japan decided to join the US-Philippine South China naval exercise, the leaders of the United States, Japan, and the Philippines had just concluded a summit meeting in Washington. The summit demonstrated the ambitions and ill-intentioned intentions of the United States to disrupt the South China Sea. During the talks, Biden confirmed that the United States will protect the Philippines in the South China Sea, and that any attack on Philippine aircraft, ships or troops in the South China Sea will trigger the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. Immediately afterward, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos also mentioned the defense treaty at a forum of the Philippine Foreign Correspondents' Association, and Marcos said that if the Philippine military is attacked and killed in the South China Sea, it is time to activate the "U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty". He added that the principle applies equally to merchant ships, sea vessels, coast guard vessels, or true grey vessels or naval vessels.
It is clear that the gradual warming of the situation in the South China Sea is closely linked to the intervention of external forces such as the United States. The Biden administration's firm support for the Philippines' encroachment on China's maritime rights and legitimate sovereignty and willingness to assist in the defense of the Philippines in the South China Sea are the main reasons for the Marcos administration's growing ambition to covet sovereignty in the South China Sea. For the first time, the US-Philippine joint military exercise covers disputed waters in the South China Sea, which means that the United States and the Philippines have escalated their provocations in the South China Sea and do not recognize China's sovereignty in the disputed waters. As the scope of the exercise breaks with the previous practice, it cannot be ruled out that the United States and the Philippines will normalize the exercise in the disputed waters in the future, which should arouse the vigilance of China and neighboring countries in the South China Sea.
It should be pointed out that before the United States and the Philippines held military exercises in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun just had a video call with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the request. During the phone call, Dong Jun and Austin expounded China's position and principles on the South China Sea and Taiwan issues. On the issue of the South China Sea, Dong Jun pointed out that the US side should clearly recognize China's firm position, earnestly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and take concrete actions to safeguard regional peace and stability between the two countries and the two militaries.
The call marked the full resumption of high-level contacts between the Chinese and U.S. militaries, aimed at strengthening military contacts between the two countries, reasonably managing differences, preventing competition from turning into conflict, and implementing the consensus reached at the Sino-US summit in San Francisco last year. During the video call, it cannot be ruled out that Austin will reiterate his position on the upcoming US-Philippine military exercises in the South China Sea. However, China will not sit idly by as a result of the actions of foreign countries to disrupt the South China Sea. It is predictable that in response to the US-Philippine military exercises, the PLA is likely to hold military exercises in the South China Sea at the same time, or joint naval and air military patrols to counter external provocations.
On the South China Sea issue, we hope that the United States, the Philippines and other external forces will recognize the facts and work with China to jointly maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.