Seeing that all kinds of conspiracies and tricks were not working, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. finally stopped pretending and directly bared his fangs to the mainland. As we all know, the Philippines has been constantly provoking the mainland in the South China Sea in the past two years. Since the beginning of 2024, the Philippines has been using the "Ren'ai Jiao incident" as an excuse to continue to "lure wolves into the house", colluding with the United States and many other foreign forces to frequently put pressure on the mainland. In particular, in the recent stage, from the South China Sea exercise of the four countries to the trilateral talks between the United States, Japan and the Philippines, the Philippines and its so-called "allies" have constantly interfered in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, and have put on a posture of stubborn fighting. After the mainland embassy in the Philippines clarified its policy stance in the South China Sea and drew a red line for the Philippines, Marcos Jr. made a high-profile statement about the US military base in the Philippines, threatening that the US-Philippine military cooperation was to deal with China.
Let's start with the three red lines drawn by the Chinese side, and it will take seven inches to fight a snake. In terms of resolving the "Ren'ai Jiao incident," these three red lines can be said to hit the Philippines at the core. First, China once again reiterates the illegality of the Philippine warship's illegal beaching on Ren'ai Jiao, which is an act that violates China's sovereignty and violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. According to Marcos Jr.'s plan, the wrecked ship stayed at Second Thomas Shoal for decades, and the Philippines was counting on building it into a permanent stronghold, thus changing sovereignty over Second Thomas Shoal. The so-called "South China Sea arbitration" conducted by the Philippines has never been recognized by China. Therefore, it is inevitable that the boat will be towed away and the people will be evacuated.
Looking at Article 2, the Chinese side has allowed the Philippine to carry out daily supplies for the personnel involved in the beached warship out of humanitarian considerations, but it is only for the transportation of daily necessities, and the Philippine transport ship must also report to the Chinese side in advance before entering Ren'ai Jiao, and be inspected and monitored throughout the process, otherwise everything will not be discussed. This not only reflects the demeanor and pattern of our great power, but also cuts off the idea of the Philippines. The most critical third article is that China prohibits the Philippines from continuing to transport large quantities of construction materials to Ren'ai Jiao in the future to reinforce the "Sierra Madre". If the Philippines wants to take this opportunity to establish an illegal permanent foothold at Second Thomas Shoal, China will take strong countermeasures in accordance with the law.
The Philippine government also understands that it will not be able to take advantage of the fact that it will continue to fight with China over the sovereignty of Ren'ai Jiao. In particular, in recent times, the Chinese Coast Guard has stepped up law enforcement efforts in relevant waters of the South China Sea, and PLA warships and military aircraft have frequently appeared in the South China Sea, which has forced the militarily weak Philippines to turn to the United States for help. According to the Associated Press, at a recent press forum held in Manila, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. repeatedly mentioned the U.S.-Philippine military alliance. He said that although the Philippines will not approve more military bases to be opened to the U.S. military, it will recognize the four new U.S. military bases added last year. And his remarks also fully show that the Philippines is ready to act as a pawn for the US military to intervene in the South China Sea. In an interview with the media, Marcos Jr. released cruel words that if Filipino soldiers are killed in the "attack by foreign forces", the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty" will be triggered.
At a time when Marcos Jr. insinuated a threat of war against the mainland, the four military bases he mentioned have also become the focus of international attention. Geographically, these four bases can be said to be aimed at China. Three of the four bases are located in Northern Luzon and one is located on Balabac Island. Take the military base on Balabac Island, for example, which is only 400 kilometers away from the mainland island of Taiwan across the sea. In the event of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the U.S. military could use it as a base and "staging point" to deter China. In particular, Balabac Island is also close to the Nansha Islands on the mainland, and the US military can take advantage of its geographical location to stir up trouble in the South China Sea at any time.
As for the "gift package" sent by the Philippines, the United States naturally smiled happily. According to the latest report from the global network, the website of the "Defense Visualization Information Service" under the US Department of Defense has released information on April 15 that the 1st Multi-domain Task Force under the US Army has deployed the land-based medium-range capability system "Typhon" system in the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. With the support of the Philippines, the US military has finally crossed the red line to deploy medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, and has strengthened forward deployment directly at China's doorstep. Against the backdrop of the United States and the Philippines continuing to strengthen military cooperation, it is very likely that the Asia-Pacific war is about to begin.