Recently, the United States and the Philippines officially staged a "shoulder to shoulder" joint military exercise, the two countries will send 16,700 soldiers to participate in the exercise, the US aircraft carrier "Roosevelt" has sailed to the southern waters of China's Huangyan Island, in addition to more than 10 countries will end in the South China Sea, which can be said to be "menacing." In addition, the US military recently announced that it had deployed a "medium-range missile system" on Luzon Island in the northern part of the Philippines, claiming that it could "hit Shanghai" in five minutes. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said that the US military's missiles were to deal with the "South China Sea issue." After returning from his visit to the United States, Marcos also set out to clean up the "pro-China faction" in China, highlighting the posture of confronting China to the end, and the situation in the South China Sea may suddenly heat up.
With regard to the attempts of the United States, the Philippines and other countries to provoke the South China Sea, China has made relevant arrangements in advance. Recently, Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Indonesia, the largest country in ASEAN, and stressed the need to build the South China Sea into a sea of peace. Not long ago, the Southern Theater of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a military exercise in the South China Sea, and the objective of the exercise was to strike at "enemy war-damaged fishing boats." At the same time, the Ministry of National Defense made clear its position, saying that the Philippines will never be allowed to act arbitrarily. China's diplomatic and military efforts have demonstrated its strong determination to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and combined with the recent visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China, China-US diplomatic and geopolitical games in the South China Sea have begun.
Judging from the actions of the US military, the so-called "shoulder-to-shoulder" exercise is just a show, and the US has no intention of confronting the PLA head-to-head, and it is likely to demonstrate its so-called "commitment" to the Philippines and encourage the Philippines to stir up the situation in the South China Sea. This has already been reflected in the recent joint exercise of the United States, Japan, the Philippines and Australia, which ended in a hurry in the face of the PLA's war patrol. What deserves more attention is the medium-range missile system deployed by the US military in the Philippines, which can not only launch the "Standard-6" anti-ship missile with a range of about 370 km, but also launch the "Tomahawk" land-attack missile with a range of 1,500 km.
From the perspective of China's military strength, aside from the equipment of the navy and air force, in terms of missile strength alone, it has the Red Flag, Eagle Strike, and Dongfeng series of strike forces, covering medium, short, and long-range targets; from the perspective of reciprocal deterrence, the missile system deployed by the US military in the Philippines is within the range of the PLA and is far inferior to China's shore-based firepower. In this regard, Guo Zhengliang, a commentator on current affairs in Taiwan, said frankly that the PLA can destroy the US missile system in the Philippines in 30 seconds at the earliest. Marcos's attempt to deter China with this is just a fantasy.
With the departure of the "Shandong" aircraft carrier and the sea trials of the "Liaoning" ship, it is difficult for the US aircraft carrier "Roosevelt" to make big waves in the South China Sea, and the PLA has locked in the victory ahead of schedule. Judging from the recent interactions between China and the United States at various levels, the United States has no intention of tearing up its face with China, and the Philippines is just a "pawn" of the United States to contain China.