From 22 to 24 July, the 19th Annual Meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum was held in Qingdao, China. As the host country, China extended invitations to all 23 member countries and 7 observers of the Forum, which was attended by more than 180 representatives of high-level delegations from 29 countries.
There are 30 member countries of the forum, why only 29 came, and who didn't come?
The Philippines, of course.
In 1988, the Western Pacific Naval Forum was established, and after 35 years of development, the Western Pacific Forum has become the most fruitful, dynamic and potential multilateral cooperation mechanism for regional navies.
In January this year, the Philippines also sent representatives to participate in a three-day panel meeting of the forum in Nanjing. The annual meeting of the forum held in mid-April was undoubtedly the highlight of the Western Pacific Forum, but the Philippines, as a member of the country, chose to refuse the invitation issued by China. This has led the members of the forum to cast doubt on the political wisdom of President Ferdinand Marcos.
This year's annual meeting, the navies of 29 countries have sent delegations to participate, and 20 of them have also sent senior naval officials to participate. For example, the new commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Stephen Kollal, the new commander of the Russian Navy, Moiseiv, etc.
The theme of this year's annual meeting is "Coexistence of Destiny and Oceans", and three sub-topics are set up: "Global Security Initiative and Maritime Peace and Tranquility", "Maritime Security Cooperation and Maritime Order Based on International Law", and "Extensive Consultation, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits and Global Ocean Governance".
At its core: maritime security and cooperation.
Now, for its own selfish interests, the Philippines is constantly creating friction with China in the South China Sea, and China is certainly not used to it, and has repeatedly thwarted the Philippines' attempts to deliver maintenance materials to "zombie ships", and the high-pressure water cannon has caused the Philippine army to raise a white flag.
And the Philippines is like often asking parents for wrongdoing, and after being reprimanded, not only does not repent, but colludes with outsiders to deal with the bad children of parents.
What is the Philippines busy with if it does not go to China to attend the 19th Annual Meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum?
I'm busy sulking and flexing my muscles!
On April 11, under the convening of the master Meiguo, Xiaori and the Filipino maid held a "trilateral meeting". Previously, the United States and Japan have held a separate summit, and according to the media, the United States and Japan have reached more than 70 cooperation agreements. Since then, the "trilateral summit" has also achieved significant results, and the core content is to "demonstrate the power of the three countries in the South China Sea". Fools know!
Filipino maids know that in the South China Sea, in terms of military strength, economic strength, historical continuity and legal doctrine, they cannot be compared with China at all. But for the sake of his own selfish interests and pitiful face, he did not hesitate to take risks to become an enemy of China.
The United States and Japan have also drawn a big pie for Filipino maids, one is that the United States and Japan have promised to give Philippine military support, and the other is that Filipino maids have asked beautiful countries to invest $100 billion in the Philippines in the next few years.
Militarily, the beautiful country is quite cheerful, announcing on April 15 the deployment of the "Typhon" medium-range missile system in the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. But in terms of investment, he forgot his promise, which really made the Filipino maid depressed.
On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed three foreign aid bills with a total value of $95 billion, including $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26.4 billion in aid to Israel, and $8.1 billion in the "Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Act". But there is not a dime in the $95 billion foreign aid bill, not to mention the $100 billion investment in the Philippines, and even the $2.5 billion military aid to the Philippines for five years has been forgotten.
The Filipino maids have invested a lot of money for this $100 billion investment, and last year they added four new military bases to the United States, and the Philippine side said at that time: "We absolutely will not allow the US military to use these bases to attack any country." However, on April 15 this year, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos told the media that the four new US military bases in the Philippines last year were to deal with China in the South China Sea.
However, in the foreign military aid bill passed by the US Congress on April 20, Filipino maids not only did not even provide 1 cent in aid, but also paid $375 million out of their own pockets to import "BrahMos" cruise missiles from India in order to cooperate with the beautiful countries to contain China.
Typical thankless!
The Filipino maid was naturally "angry from the heart" and spread her resentment to China.
No, even the annual meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum did not make the little character not participate, and then cooperated with the beautiful country to show off his muscles in the South China Sea.
According to Philippine media reports, the United States and the Philippines held a three-week "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise in the South China Sea from April 22 to May 10. The exercise has several characteristics: it is large-scale, has a large number of participating countries, is rich in content, has a clear direction, and is well-placed.
About 11,000 U.S. soldiers and 5,000 Filipino soldiers participated in the exercise, with 14 other countries participating as observers.
The gimmick of the "island-seizing exercise" was to sink the Philippine Navy supply ship "Lake Carilaya". Although the ship has a foreign name, in fact, this warship is a civilian oil tanker made in China and used by Filipino enterprises, and it is also the only "Chinese-made naval asset" of the Philippine military at sea.
Why did the sinking target choose it, and what did the Filipino maid think about? Brother Li didn't bother to analyze it, and everyone who understood it understood!
Filipino maids told the media that the US-Philippines "shoulder to shoulder" joint military exercise "does not target" any third party. But before the exercise, Philippine Army Colonel Lojico made a speech that wanted to cover up. Lojiko said that the purpose of the existence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is to "prepare for war," and if it is whitewashed, it will be harmful to the country.
Brother Li has always admired the courage of the Filipino maid, but unfortunately, the Philippine maid's claim to sovereignty in the South China Sea is not in accordance with the law.
At the opening ceremony of the 19th Western Pacific Naval Forum, Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, expressed the Chinese government's determination and way of handling the South China Sea issue with the "two noes."
It not only opposes division, friction and confrontation, but also proposes that all parties should adhere to the correct way of getting along with each other based on equality, mutual trust, dialogue and coordination.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) will resolutely defend its national interests and will take resolute and reasoned countermeasures against unreasonable provocations.
Although the great powers of the East have been a state of etiquette since ancient times, sometimes the thunderbolt means to show the bodhisattva's heart.
On April 20, China's Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning: from 6 p.m. on April 24 to 6 p.m. on April 27, China will conduct military training in some waters of the South China Sea and prohibit sailing.
Today's world is really a bit weird, you can be an upright person, but you are willing to wag your tail and beg for mercy.
It seems that after sending off the guests, China is ready to close its doors and fight dogs!