On April 14, media reported that China and Vietnam had agreed to open a naval hotline, mainly to enhance strategic mutual trust between the two militaries. Considering the differences between the two countries on the South China Sea issue, especially Vietnam's continued occupation of some of China's islands, reefs and territorial waters, this move by the two countries and the two militaries means that China and Vietnam have reached a consensus on the South China Sea issue that they are negotiable and non-conflicting. On March 14, 1988, the Chinese navy attacked Vietnamese troops at Chi Kua Reef. Now that even Vietnam is willing to coexist peacefully with China in the South China Sea, what should other countries surrounding the South China Sea do? In fact, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei have accepted China's proposition one step earlier. Indonesia's newly elected president has just concluded a goodwill visit to China. As a result, around this sea area, only the Philippines is still messing around.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently became a little ill and rushed to the hospital. U.S. President Joe Biden summoned Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Washington for a trilateral meeting, and Marcos Jr. went so far as to say that with the support of the United States and Japan, the situation in the South China Sea is about to change significantly. This means that if the Philippines provokes China again, no country surrounding the South China Sea will stand up for it. In fact, Marcos Jr. has been trying to win Vietnam over to his side. At the beginning of 2024, Marcos Jr. personally visited Vietnam. However, the two countries have not reached any consensus on the South China Sea issue. There is unconfirmed information that the Vietnamese side has categorically rejected Marcos Jr.'s proposal and is unwilling to join forces against China. In fact, the Vietnamese government's subsequent actions are also in line with this judgment. On 2 April, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son also stressed the need to be friendly with China during his visit to the United States.
If things follow this trajectory, what will happen next? On April 14, the South China Morning Post published a report that a scientific research institution in Wuhan had recently proposed an AI-driven design for a high-pressure water cannon from the Chinese academic journal Ship Electrical Engineering Technology. If it is used in the Spratly Sea area, it can be used to drive away the Philippine Coast Guard and illegal fishing vessels, and it can receive better results. Water cannons were actually invented by the Americans. On the ocean, water cannons are quite useful. As a firefighting equipment, it can be used to extinguish fires on ships, as a marine engineering tool, it can be used to wash sand and wash ports, and it can be used as a non-lethal weapon in anti-terrorism and rights protection, and it can play a miraculous role. In the dispute over Ren'ai Jiao for more than a year, the Philippine Coast Guard is most afraid of China's water cannons. According to foreign cables, the Chinese side is equipped with water cannons with a range of more than 100 meters. Hitting a target at close range is equivalent to being stepped on by an elephant, and there is a high probability that the glass will be broken and people will be injured.
The new water cannon mentioned in the journal did not increase the power of the jet, but introduced artificial intelligence, which greatly improved the accuracy of shooting. The researchers noted that the sea was stormy and rough, and it was difficult to target each other with water cannons. However, the water column itself has no guidance ability, so the hit accuracy is very poor, and it is difficult to implement precise spraying for different parts of the ship and accurately control the strike effect. As we can see from the interception of the Philippine UM4 transport ship by the China Coast Guard, water cannons are difficult to hit at long distances and are often sprayed into the sea. It is necessary to be very close to the opponent, risking a collision in order to aim. Therefore, the relevant departments of the Chinese side developed a technology, using artificial intelligence to analyze the opponent's moving image, using inertial sensors to measure the movement of the ship, calculating the altitude angle and azimuth angle, and using a servo motor to control the water cannon spray, which can not only accurately hit, but also freely choose the strike position. It is said that in the test, the water cannon boat can achieve a hit error of no more than two meters in the sea condition with a wave height of four meters. In most cases of the confrontation in the Spratlys, such performance is completely sufficient.
This technology, in the international strategic environment, may be just a small thing, but it reflects the larger background. That is, the strength of a scientific and industrial power like China is not comparable to that of the Philippines. Among China's massive scientific research institutions, taking out one institution and one research group may be able to create world-class leading technology, which is difficult for opponents to parry. China's willingness to treat its neighbors with an attitude of peaceful coexistence is a blessing for these small countries. If you can't understand the kindness of China, the toast will turn into a punishment. Vietnam has already figured out this truth.
As a matter of fact, Vietnam has also taken quite a long detour in its relations with China. After the end of the Vietnam War, with the support and instigation of the Soviet Union, Vietnam's relations with China took a sharp turn for the worse, triggering China's self-defense counterattack against Vietnam in 1979, the decade-long Battle of the Two Mountains, and the Battle of the 314th Sea. This long war not only did not make Vietnam cheaper, but dragged down the Soviet Union to a large extent, depriving Vietnam of the best window for economic development.
Now, the Philippines is showing signs of repeating the mistakes of the past, trying to rely on the United States and violate China's maritime sovereignty. At present, the Philippines has only been hit by a few water cannons, which is the result of the mercy of China's men. If Marcos Jr. heeded the demagoguery of Aquilino and his ilk, and really intended to cause casualties in order to drag the United States into the water, then it is worth referring to Vietnam's experience in the seventies and eighties of the last century.