Loading...
On April 22, the "Shoulder to Shoulder" military exercise jointly participated by the United States and the Philippines was officially held, which will last nearly 20 days and end on May 10. As far as this annual military exercise, which began in 1991, it is obvious that the exercises in recent years have become more and more targeted, the smell of gunpowder has become stronger and stronger, and the provocation has become more and more intense.
In the early years, this exercise was mainly aimed at terrorists in the Philippines, and the content of the exercise was mainly military training, military-civilian cooperation and humanitarian relief, but as the United States has stepped up efforts to promote the implementation of the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" in recent years, the Philippine Marcos Jr. government has been fully pro-American and has continued to provoke in the South China Sea. In 2022, the number of troops dispatched by the United States and the Philippines will be 8,900, 17,600 in 2023, and 16,700 this year, in addition to 11,000 U.S. troops, nearly 5,000 Philippine troops, and 1,000 Australian and more than 100 French soldiers this year.
Moreover, this year's military exercise site has been extended to the South China Sea, and claims that the military exercise will be carried out as planned, regardless of whether there are Chinese ships in the relevant waters during the military exercise, and the Philippine side has also released public opinion that the military exercise will simulate "retaking the islands occupied by hostile forces" and will sink a retired Philippine Navy supply ship. The identity of this supply ship is also very special, as it is the only Chinese-made asset of the Philippine Navy. According to the data, this is a 5,000-ton transport ship built by a shipyard in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, which was originally the largest oil carrier of the Philippine National Oil Corporation, and was donated to the Philippine Navy in 2014 and converted into the first supply ship of the Philippine Navy.
The content of these exercises, combined with the armed provocations carried out by the Philippines on Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao, shows that the motives of the US and the Philippines in this military exercise are not only far less simple than they claim, but can also be said to be painstaking.
For example, the so-called "medium-range strike" and "Typhon" system used by the US Pacific Army to fly 15 hours and 8,000 miles from the mainland and airlift the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines is a "milestone significance." This system can not only attack ships sailing in the waters near the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, but also hit targets with a radius of about 1,800 kilometers.
Some commentators believe that the military exercise emphasizes that the Philippines regards maritime threats as the biggest security threat, which means that the Philippines has directly regarded China as a threat. Anyway, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Aquilino and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. have said that as long as the Philippines has casualties in the South China Sea, the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty" will be activated.
This kind of military action sometimes gives the military exercise side a strong illusion, that is, they feel that they are particularly powerful, and that the opponent is like a target on the exercise ground, stupid and fragile, and as long as they dare to do it, it will be devastating.
On the same day as the opening of the U.S.-Philippine "shoulder to shoulder" military exercise on the 22nd, it was also the opening day of the Western Pacific Forum hosted by the Chinese Navy, with more than 180 representatives from 29 countries attending, including the heads of maritime forces of more than 20 countries, this forum is held every two years, has been held for more than 30 years, with 23 full member states and 7 observer states, the purpose of the forum is to provide an important platform for Western Pacific countries to discuss and solve maritime issues, but the Philippines was deliberately absent this time.
At the forum, the mainland representative clearly sent two signals to the outside world: First, China has always been committed to resolving maritime disputes in the western Pacific and other waters of the world through dialogue, and if it resorts to force, it will not only fail to solve the problem well, but may also make the problem more complicated and dangerous; in the South China Sea dispute, China has always exercised restraint and has not used strong measures, but this is not a sign of China's weakness and compromise, but it is a chance to give the other side. Second, if certain countries insist on making trouble and deliberately infringe on China's territorial waters and sovereignty integrity, then China will not cause trouble and will never be afraid of it, and China's armed forces will resolutely defend national sovereignty and interests.
The words are very clear, but if the other party can't take it, don't listen, and let it go, then there is really no other way.
Take a look at the journalist: Li Suning
Editor: Li Suning
Video Editor: Zhao Xin
Editor-in-charge: Fang Liang