Not long ago, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines held their first trilateral summit. In the joint statement, the three countries worked hard to smear China on issues such as the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait, and the three countries also held joint patrols in the South China Sea. Against this background, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos also floated up, thinking that the Philippines could sit at the same "table" as the United States, but in fact it was on the "menu".
The Philippines has not only continued to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States, Japan, Australia and other countries, launched joint patrols in the South China Sea, and has not stopped provocations on several islands and reefs, but it is basically within the controllable range. But after Marcos returned from his visit to the United States, he began to become more and more bold, as if he had received instructions. He reversed previous rhetoric and admitted that the four new military bases opened to the United States were intended to counter China's actions in the South China Sea. The Philippines has also allowed the United States to deploy the "intermediate-range strike capability" missile system in northern Luzon, and the United States already has nine military bases in the Philippines, and the deployment of intermediate-range missile systems has always been very sensitive in international affairs, and it is impossible for the Philippines not to know about it. Even if they knew the consequences, they would still become a "forward outpost" or a "large US military base" for the United States.
While the Philippines is running wild on a dangerous road, it should also open its eyes to see what China is doing. Recently, GMA news reporters claimed that they had photographed a suspected Chinese Wuzhen-7 high-altitude reconnaissance drone operating in the coastal waters of the Philippines. Second, the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines disclosed the details of the "gentlemen's agreement" between China and the Philippines on Ren'ai Jiao, accusing the Philippines of unilaterally abandoning the agreement and confirming the "villain" behavior of the current Philippine government.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently made a surprise visit to Indonesia and held a press conference, warning that we should be highly vigilant against the formation of "small circles" in the region, cherish the hard-won peace, and build the South China Sea into a sea of peace. Not only that, but the foreign minister will also visit Cambodia and Papua New Guinea, and in addition to the foreign visit and domestic invitation some time ago, he will basically circle around the Philippines. The countries surrounding the Philippines have basically been talked about, and it seems that the big one is coming. This is a four-pronged approach, which is to keep a monitor on the Philippines, then accuse the Philippines of sabotaging the agreement, and then express a position on ASEAN and coordinate a tour around the Philippines. ASEAN has been silent about the Philippines' actions, and the Philippines has repeatedly complained that ASEAN has not unanimously condemned China's actions in the South China Sea, and ASEAN does not want to be dragged into the water by the Philippines at all. The United States always wants to build the Philippines into a 'Trojan' horse for ASEAN, weaken ASEAN's unity and cohesion, and sow discord between ASEAN and China. But China's restraint has been recognized by ASEAN, and the Philippines has been isolated. Even if China really wants to take action against the Philippines, ASEAN will most likely turn a blind eye in the future, and this is all done by the Philippines itself.