On the one hand, the Philippines has refused to participate in the Western Pacific Forum, which was founded and hosted by China, which is undoubtedly a silent "protest" by Marcos Jr. against China's-for-tat attitude in the South China Sea, because it cannot take advantage of it, it cannot take advantage of loopholes at all, and it has been "suppressed" by the Chinese coast guard for too long, and it will always feel uncomfortable and need to "vent"; on the other hand, the Philippines has started its annual "shoulder-to-shoulder" military exercise with the United States in Manila, and more than 10,000 US troops have been stationed at military bases on Philippine territory. This "refusal" and a "military exercise" clearly reflected Marcos Jr.'s psychology of attempting to demonstrate against China.
On April 22, the 19th Western Pacific Forum, an influential institutional naval forum in the Western Pacific region, was held in Qingdao from April 21 to 24, with more than 180 foreign representatives from 29 countries, including Australia, Cambodia, France, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United States, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, participating. However, as one of the founding members of the forum, the Philippines has rarely sent a representative to the forum this year.
Senior Colonel Liang Wei of the Chinese Naval Research Institute responded on the same day that China, as the host country of this annual meeting, has extended invitations to all member and observer countries of the forum, and it is not clear why the Philippines did not attend the meeting. "However, I believe that with the joint efforts of all member and observer states participating in the meeting, this annual meeting will definitely inject a lot of positive energy into enhancing maritime security cooperation and enhancing mutual understanding and trust between member and observer states."
It can be seen that although China has given the Philippines a step down, the Philippines has obviously "rejected" China's "invitation" and played a "petty temper" on the South China Sea issue, and there is a "big scheme" behind it. Obviously, since the Ren'ai Jiao incident in August last year, the Philippine Navy has been "suppressed" by the Chinese coast guard, trying to smuggle building materials and other reinforcement materials by tricks, but it was immediately discovered by the Chinese coast guard. Therefore, the Philippines' refusal to participate in the Western Pacific Forum is also "excusable", after all, it has been suppressed so badly, and it has to slap a swollen face and become fat to come to the meeting, isn't it a joke for colleagues in other countries?
At the same time, the Philippines has a "big plan", which is to start a "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise with the US military. According to the global network, on the morning of April 22, the 2024 Philippine-US "Shoulder to Shoulder" joint military exercise was launched in Manila, with 11,000 U.S. troops gathered in the Philippines and will hold an annual "Shoulder to Shoulder" military exercise with 5,000 Filipino soldiers, 150 Australian military personnel and about 100 French naval personnel. It can be seen that the Philippines did not come to participate in the Western Pacific Forum, but also launched joint military exercises with the US military, the purpose of which was to demonstrate against China and show its tough attitude on the South China Sea issue.
You must know that although the "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise is an annual regular military exercise between the United States and the Philippines, it is also the largest military exercise between the two countries, and the number of US military participants far exceeds that of the Philippine military participating troops. It can be seen that, first, the Philippines has already opened several new military bases for the use of the US military, otherwise it would not be able to carry so many US troops to camp and train in the Philippines.
Second, after many rounds of previous rounds of confrontation at sea, public opinion propaganda, and verbal warfare, the Philippines did not send a representative to participate in the Western Pacific Forum hosted by China, and at the same time it was eye-to-eyeing with the United States, indicating that the South China Sea dispute against China provoked by the Marcos Jr. administration has entered a new stage. Marcos Jr. hopes to use a change in diplomatic posture to pull and fight in an attempt to disrupt China's foreign policy toward the Philippines and buy space and time for his next greater move to unite with the United States. After stating on April 15 that he did not intend to continue to open more bases to the US military, he directly opened his arms to the US military forces, using this gesture to form a strong contrast and demonstrate against China.
So, what is the profound meaning of the US military arriving in Manila and holding the "shoulder-to-shoulder" exercise with the Philippine military? Speaking of which, the code name of the exercise "shoulder-to-shoulder" is also very interesting; as the name suggests, it means that the two sides should support and help each other and overcome difficulties together. Judging from the usual methods used by the United States in using other countries, how high the United States is now praising the Philippines and how heavy its promises are, the more "refreshing" and ruthless it will be to break the treaty later. Therefore, it is also possible that the United States and the Philippines are taking advantage of each other, and it is more likely that they are in the same bed and have different dreams, and the United States just sees that the Philippines can provide an opportunity to contain China, and wants the Philippines to take advantage of its fire, while the Philippines hopes to use the strength of the United States to deter China.
What is even more alarming is that if the exercise works well, Marcos Jr. should also invite other countries outside the region, such as Japan, Australia, and even India, to conduct joint military exercises. Previously, the United States, Japan, and Australia had joined the Philippines in a so-called "joint patrol in the South China Sea," sending military aircraft and ships to cruise in the waters near the Philippines, intending to show their support for the Philippines and at the same time exert pressure on China.
However, the Chinese side is not frightened, and I still don't know about these little tricks of the Philippines? In the South China Sea, there have been many hurried passers-by in history, and how long has it been since you, the Marcos Jr. government and the US military, have been here? What can be accomplished? Moreover, Marcos Jr.'s attempt to demonstrate to the Chinese side in this way really makes people laugh and lose their big teeth, and if you invite you to come and you don't come, it can only mean that you can't be a person, a small belly, or even more ugly, it is "shameless to be embarrassed." "Anger" can't hurt the Chinese side in the slightest.