After visiting the United States and reaching an agreement on defense with the leaders of the United States and Japan, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos changed his tone as soon as he returned to China, and he continued to speak to China. According to The Paper, Marcos recently said that the Philippines will not approve the use of more military bases by the United States, and he also threatened to invoke the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty" if any Philippine troops die due to attacks by foreign troops. In other words, under what circumstances will the US military be turned to? Marcos has already given the answer. So, what exactly did Marcos want to achieve by making such a threat? Let's take a look.
First, after returning from his visit to the United States, Marcos completely "stopped pretending".
This is a very significant change. Earlier, although Marcos opened more military bases to the United States, he also said that "no country will be allowed to use Philippine territory to attack China, the Philippines will not take sides, and will continue to maintain a balance between China and the United States." Although he introduced the United States into the South China Sea, he also said that "the South China Sea issue should still be decided by countries in the region"; although he has continuously launched provocations against China in the South China Sea, he also said that "the Philippines does not want to expand the situation and still hopes to solve the problem through dialogue and consultation with China."
But after returning from the United States, Marcos immediately changed his face, acknowledging that the Philippines' decision to add more military bases last year was in response to China's actions in the South China Sea. Regarding "whether the entry of US troops into the Philippines will provoke disputes in the South China Sea", Marcos made a direct showdown, saying that "the existence of US military bases is to protect the Philippines."
He further stated that if Filipino soldiers are killed in an attack from any foreign power, then it is time to invoke the Treaty. Objectively speaking, Marcos is indirectly issuing an ultimatum to China, and the provocations against China on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea will not stop and will be intensified, but if China causes casualties on the Philippine side in response, it will pull the US military along.
Previously, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Aquilino had directly told the Philippine side that the "mutual defense treaty" could be invoked in the event of death. During his visit to the United States, Biden also reaffirmed his security commitment to the Philippines in front of Marcos.
As a result, Marcos began to let himself go completely. In response, China's Ministry of National Defense said that the United States, for its own selfish interests, instigated and instigated the Philippine side to infringe on its rights and provoke it, and also vainly tried to threaten and coerce China with the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. He also reminded the Philippines that China will not let the Philippines come and will make all preparations to deal with emergencies and firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
Second, the United States and the Philippines are about to hold military exercises, and Marcos also shouted to Japan.
Recently, the Washington Post revealed that the Philippines and the United States are preparing for the upcoming "most ambitious joint military exercise to date" as tensions escalate in the South China Sea. According to US media, this is also the first time that the United States and the Philippines have conducted joint exercises beyond 12 nautical miles of Philippine territorial waters and disputed waters in the South China Sea, with 16,000 soldiers from both sides participating. The exercise included troops from both sides simultaneously occupying two islands off the western and northern coasts of the Philippines and transporting high-mobility artillery and rocket systems to the islands for live-fire exercises.
In this regard, Philippine Navy spokesman Commodore Trinidad said that the message the Philippines wants to convey is simple: "We are not alone, we are ready to defend our sovereignty." It is not difficult to see from this news that the Philippine side is ready to escalate the situation again. First, for the first time, the exercise was held in "disputed waters," and the subtext was that they were "preparing to stir up trouble." Second, it was no longer just the coast guard that came forward, but began to dispatch troops, and the US military was draped in "tiger skins."
In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said that the Philippines should be soberly aware that attracting foreign countries to flex their muscles and provoke confrontation in the South China Sea will only exacerbate tensions and will only lead to greater insecurity and become a pawn of others. In addition to preparing for a joint exercise with the US military, Marcos also openly shouted to Japan, hoping that Japan's Self-Defense Forces would also join the US-Philippine joint exercise, calling on Japan, the United States, and the Philippines to join hands and "make the maximum use of the forces they have."
Third, under Marcos's operation, China-Philippines relations may not return to the past.
Marcos drew external forces to provoke China on the South China Sea issue, and even his sister couldn't stand it, thinking that it was "on top". Former President Rodrigo Duterte expressed even more sorrow over this, saying that "when I was president, there was no quarrel in the South China Sea", believing that this was the United States instigating the current Philippine government to let the Philippines "use itself as a missile launcher".
And just the day before, the US Army also announced that it had been unable to solve the "unsolved case" -- which country in the Asia-Pacific region should the medium-range missiles be deployed? The United States announced that the medium-range missiles have arrived in the Philippines and will be deployed in the northern part of Luzon Island, with a range of 1,700 kilometers, covering the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. In other words, after returning from his visit to the United States, Marcos not only expressed his position directly, but also escalated his actions. This time, he said "if the Philippine side is dead", which may indicate that the Philippine side has a plan for further provocations, with the aim of drawing China into the conflict. China needs to be prepared for this.