#头条创作挑战赛#
Text/Zhan Hai
The U.S. military's "shoulder-to-shoulder" military exercise is in full swing, and the Chinese Navy formation has quietly appeared in key waterways in the Philippines, making the Philippine military extremely nervous.
According to the latest report of the Philippine local media "Daily Tribune", a spokesman for the Philippine Navy said that on May 2, local time, four warships flying the flag of the Chinese Navy appeared in the Sibutu waterway near Tawitawi Province in the southern Philippines.
(The Philippine military photographed my 052D missile destroyer "Hefei")
Located in the southern part of the Philippines, the Sibutu Waterway is less than 16 nautical miles wide and is flanked by the Philippines and Malaysia. According to the standard of 12 nautical miles from the baselines of the territorial sea, this waterway would have belonged to the "territorial waters" of Malaysia and the Philippines. But the Sibutu Waterway, a busy international waterway, is the fastest shipping route connecting Australia and Northeast Asia, with more than 10,000 ships passing through it each year. According to international practice, foreign vessels can pass through the waterway normally "harmlessly", as long as they are not engaged in smuggling, weapons testing, etc.
(The geographical location of the Sibutu Waterway is very special)
It is understood that the Philippine Western Command Navy in Mindanao has made public the situation of the Chinese naval formation, and this time it is the Type 055 large destroyer "Dalian," the 052D missile destroyer "Hefei," the 054A missile frigate "Binzhou," and the 903 comprehensive supply ship "Weishanhu" passing through the Sibutu waterway.
The appearance of the Chinese naval formation in this area really made the Filipinos nervous, and the Chinese naval fleet appeared in the southern part of the Philippines less than two days after the "4.30 Scarborough Shoal Conflict" between the Chinese coast guard and the Philippines, and this time the four warships of the Chinese naval formation already have quite powerful firepower. According to reports, the Type 055 missile destroyer is equipped with 112 hot and cold co-frame vertical hair systems, and the 052D missile destroyer also has a 64-unit universal vertical hair system, which is enough to destroy the entire Philippine Navy, and it is impossible to say that the Filipinos are not nervous.
(Filipinos are somewhat nervous about the passage of the Chinese Navy fleet)
But then again, as a busy international shipping lane, the Chinese navy does not pass through the Miyako Strait or the Bass Strait as often as it does, but it is no stranger to this area. Back in 2017, then-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed hope that the Chinese and U.S. navies would assist the Philippines in securing the Sibutu waterway. Because the waterway was controlled by Fiabu Sayyaf forces at the time, the group had long entrenched itself in the waterway, hijacking ships and demanding ransom. Indonesia has even said that this sea area is "the next Somalia". The Philippine Navy is too weak in the region to pose a threat to the Abu Sayyaf forces. It was not until the Philippines, backed by China, launched a war on terror and wiped out the main force of the armed forces, that the situation improved.
(Before the fall of the Abu Sayyaf forces, it had long been entrenched in the Sibutu waterway)
In August 2019, the Philippine West Mindanao Command also released photos of Chinese warships passing through the Xibutu waterway many times in two months, and from the pictures released by the Philippine side, the Chinese Navy's 054A missile frigate 536, Type 071 large dock landing ship 998, electronic reconnaissance ship 853, Type 903 comprehensive supply ship 964 and "Nantuo" 195 ocean-going tugboat, etc., it can be seen that the Chinese Navy ships passing through this area are rich in variety and quantity. Although it is very rare for the 055 drive to appear in this sea area this time, the Philippines does not need to make a fuss, as the saying goes, kill chickens with a knife, if you really want to deal with the Philippines, you don't need this kind of advanced warship at all, a 052D is enough to form a deterrent.
(A large landing ship of our army photographed by the Philippine military in 2019 passing through the waterway)
Military analysts pointed out that judging from the course of the four PLA warships and the waterways they chose to cross, the next step is likely to enter the South Pacific or the Indian Ocean, and judging from the configuration of the formations 055, 052D, 054A and supply ships, this is just a routine offshore training of the Chinese Navy, and it is likely that it is just passing through the Philippines, and the Philippine side does not need to be so self-conscious. But then again, although the Marcos authorities jumped up and down, in fact, the defeat was decided, and the Philippines could only end up with a chicken and egg fight for the United States, and there was no need for 055 to go out, and the PLA also had enough ability to eliminate the threat of the Philippine military in the South China Sea.