In order to gain more initiative in the game, Marcos invited the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to be stationed in the Philippines, and the United Front of Japan and the Philippines was aimed at China with their guns unanimous. How should China respond to the countermeasures?
As the confrontation between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea continues to escalate, some external forces have also taken the opportunity to step in. On June 28, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs announced that Japanese Defense Secretary Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa will visit the Philippines on July 8 and will hold a "2+2 meeting" with the Philippines to focus on "bilateral and defense and security issues affecting the region." Considering the escalating tensions in the South China Sea and the Philippines' continuous provocation of China over the issue of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, it is widely believed that the Japan-Philippines meeting was specifically aimed at China. In other words, the Philippines wants to join forces with Japan against China. It should be noted that during the "2+2 meeting", Japan and the Philippines will focus on a final negotiation on the "Reciprocal Access Agreement", and once the two sides reach a comprehensive consensus on cooperation, then the Japanese and Philippine militaries can be deployed to each other, and the cooperative relations between the two countries in the military field will be qualitatively upgraded.
In response to the issue of this agreement negotiation, Japan's former defense minister and current member of the Japanese ruling party Diet Onodera Itsunori said a few days ago that he hopes that the agreement negotiations can make rapid progress at the "2+2 meeting" to be held next month, and it is best to fully implement it. As far as Japan is concerned, the implementation of this agreement will bring benefits in three aspects: First, Japan will further break free from the shackles of the pacifist constitution and realize the "normalization" of military power and politics at an early date, thus taking one step closer to becoming a world power in the true sense of the word. Second, deepening Japan-Philippines defense cooperation will be used as a petition to curry favor with the United States, and as long as Japan can get the nod of the United States, Japan will accelerate its efforts to break free from the shackles of the pacifist constitution. Third, we need to establish a small circle in the South China Sea to contain China's development and rise, and ensure that Japan's own interests and status will not be greatly impacted. In short, Japan, at the behest of the United States, wants to work with the Philippines to contain China.
As for the Philippines, its role in the "Asia-Pacific strategy" of the United States has become more and more prominent, so the United States' support for the Philippines has never been interrupted. Not only has it provided a large amount of military aid, but it has also carried out joint military exercises in solidarity with the Philippines many times, and even when the situation is tense, the US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will appear in the South China Sea one after another to support the Philippine platform, and the purpose of all this is to make the Philippines a front-line offensive base for the United States to confront China in the first island chain, and then the US military can complete the power projection of the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea and the South China Sea through the Philippine military bases, and consolidate its Asia-Pacific hegemony. In fact, the Marcos administration knows very well what the real purpose of the United States and Japan is to strengthen cooperation with the Philippines, and in order to ensure that the Philippines gains more initiative and maximizes its interests in the South China Sea, the Marcos administration can only make one mistake to the end.
After all, the Marcos administration does not intend to "move in the same direction" with China on the South China Sea issue for a short time, but still tries to illegally occupy China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea. The Chinese side has long been ahead of the curve in the case of the Philippines and Japan launching "offensive operations" against China in both the north and the south. Some time ago, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made it clear that Japan and the Philippines can certainly develop normal relations with other countries, but they should not introduce bloc confrontation into the region, let alone engage in trilateral cooperation at the expense of the interests of other countries. China unswervingly upholds its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and is committed to properly handling bilateral maritime issues through dialogue and consultation with the countries directly concerned, while resolutely opposing interference and escalation of the situation by countries outside the region. Although there was no direct warning signal, Mao Ning's statement was also a reminder to Japan and the Philippines not to touch the red line drawn by China, and that China will not make any concessions or compromises in terms of territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.