The situation in the South China Sea is undergoing profound changes, and the recent provocative actions of the Philippines and the shadow of the United States behind them have attracted widespread attention.
What kind of signal does the deployment of the PLA's H-6 bombers send to the outside world?
This article will explore these issues in depth.
With the covert support of the United States, the Marcos administration in the Philippines has become more and more brazen in its provocative moves in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has openly declared that the purpose of allowing the US military to set up four additional military bases in the Philippines last year is to counterbalance China's influence in the South China Sea.
As soon as this remark came out, the United States and the Philippines launched this year's "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise in the South China Sea, in which they even chose to sink a "Chinese-made" ship as part of the exercise, and the provocation is obvious.
However, this is only the beginning, and recently, the Philippines has once again carried out provocations in the waters near Scarborough Shoal on the mainland.
At the end of April, Philippine coast guard ships 4410 and 3004 official vessels used "fishing" as an excuse to ignore China's repeated dissuasions and warnings in an attempt to illegally intrude into the waters of Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, and even deliberately entered within 12 nautical miles of Scarborough Shoal.
In this regard, the mainland coast guard ships have taken necessary measures in accordance with the law, such as forcing people outside prison and warning them with water cannons.
As can be seen from the published video, the water cannon of the mainland coast guard ship is directly aimed at the radar of the Philippine ship, which is a powerful response to the provocateur and fully complies with international and domestic laws.
While the Philippine side has been provoking one after another, some US media have noticed that the PLA's H-6J bombers have been deployed to Woody Island in the South China Sea. As an upgraded version of the H-6N bomber, the H-6J is one of the most powerful stand-off mobile strike forces of the mainland navy.
It is capable of carrying a variety of large anti-ship missiles, such as the YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missile, the YJ-83K air-to-ship missile, and the YJ-63 anti-ship missile.
The H-6J's forward deployment in the South China Sea, combined with the range of its long-range cruise missiles, means that it is fully capable of striking any target within the first island chain, and even blocking the sea lanes from the second island chain to the first.
This shows that the PLA has the ability to fully control the situation in the South China Sea, as previously emphasized in the mainland's Eastern Theater of Operations, "everything is under control".
This is by no means empty talk, but has a solid foundation of strength.
For a long time, the United States, with its powerful naval power, has frequently sent aircraft carriers and warships close to China to carry out provocations.
However, although the US military looks majestic on the surface, the United States itself knows how effective its long-range attack is.
Otherwise, in the usual way of doing things in the United States, it will not just stand by and watch Philippine ships flee in disarray under the water cannons of the mainland coast guard.
Now, the deployment of the PLA's H-6 bombers seems to be silently waiting for the "first shot" of the United States and the Philippines, so will the United States and the Philippines dare to fire this shot?
Judging by the current situation, it is clear that they do not dare. Since the United States is all out of the way, let alone the Philippines.
It is for this reason that the recent strategy of the United States and the Philippines is to try to shift the focus of the struggle in the South China Sea to the field of public opinion.
On the one hand, the Marcos administration has constantly "lured the wolf into the house" and enlisted external forces such as Japan, Australia, and some Western countries to intervene in the affairs of the South China Sea; on the other hand, the Philippine ship has brought foreign media reporters with it every time it provokes, maliciously hyped up public opinion through their lenses, and portrayed itself as a "victim", and at the same time labeled the mainland as a "South China Sea power" in order to achieve its sinister goal of coveting the mainland's islands and reefs.
In other words, the situation of the struggle in the South China Sea is changing qualitatively, and it is no longer a simple contradiction between China and the Philippines, but has evolved into a complex game between China, the Philippines and the external forces behind it.
This means that the Philippines is not alone in the challenges facing the mainland in the South China Sea.
In the face of this situation, we have always adhered to the principle of "good wine when friends come, and shotguns when jackals come".
The deployment of the PLA's H-6 bombers is the most direct warning to external forces. If the United States and the Philippines insist on going their own way and choose to play the role of "jackals", then they will have to bear the serious consequences of this.
The evacuation of the water cannons is only a "prelude" to our response to the provocation, and if the Philippine side's provocative behavior is still not reined in, then a more severe blow awaits them.