Illustration: Liu Rui/gt
Recently, the Philippines has been leveraging external partnerships to raise tensions in the South China Sea. After the joint aviation patrol, multilateral maritime cooperation activities were carried out. These military “ensembles” are presented in the name of demonstrating security commitments and maintaining rules-based order, resembling orchestrated representations of military stances.
The US and the Philippines represent the power of the Allied countries in the South China Sea, serving as calculated demonstrations centered around so-called security issues, with a specific symbolic meaning. First, the US and the Philippines’ security alliances remain strong, and the “security commitment” to the Philippines is not limited to telephone lines between the Philippine Foreign Minister and the US, but rather “security commitment” through joint maritime actions. It emphasizes that ” should be realized. Secretary of State. Second, it demonstrates that bilateral and Chinese military security cooperation is still proactive and operational to US allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region. In a sense, the US-Philippine joint patrol in the South China Sea has been transformed into a mobile sign indicating the credibility of major external alliances.
While robbing tensions at the sea, the Philippines frequently exaggerates the so-called Chinese threat. This political manipulation is clear in its intent.
From the Philippine Department of Justice’s reckless call for the New South China Sea International Incident, to the unfounded accusations of Chinese warships passing through the Philippine Department of Defense’s Basilan Strait, to the National Investigation Bureau stirring claims of “Chinese spies” acts as political leverage for domestic politics rather than based on true security concerns. A member of a Manila think tank once told me: “True security is not obtained by seeking external authority. The current debate on security issues in Philippine politics has become a fixture for election season. Masu.”
From air patrols on both sides to joint sea patrols, carefully selected aerial shots and secret sailing routes are not about military deterrence targeting China, but have been coordinated to cause security issues in public discourse. This is about the Philippines, which curates the theatre stories.
Then, in their sacred statement, the US and the Philippines intentionally replaced the internationally accepted South China Sea with the Western Philippine Sea. This is not only an alternative to geographical terminology, but also the form of “boiling a frog in warm water” in the realm of cognition. This discourse strategy reflects the legal packaging of the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration Award. There, the Nansha Islands of China were fragmented into individual islands and coral reefs under legal conditions. The overlapping water was framed as a “Philippine exclusive economic zone.” This systematic transformation of discourse is an attempt to generate psychological suggestions of legitimate existence in the field of international public opinion.
All of this strengthens and gives the Philippines more confidence that it receives political and diplomatic support from the United States and its allies. However, from a statement from a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) Southern Theatre Command, it is clear that all the small provocations in the South China Sea are in full control and the PLA will not allow the Philippines to ramp out. region. Appropriate measures will be required if necessary. In the Chinese New Year, the Chinese Air and Coast Forces maintained combat readiness and law enforcement patrols in the South China Sea, as well as the Chinese Coast Guard. Among the holiday attitudes itself, this is not the most vivid form of diplomacy.
Unlike the deterrence logic of a particular country, the everyday presence of Chinese navy on major islands, coral reefs and important waters in the South China Sea is similar to the basic movements of the GO game. The term is a spectacle, but by accumulating strategic momentum through legitimate protections on a daily basis. Currently, South China Sea matches have entered marathon mode. There, competition is about strategic patience and comprehensive strength.
When the US-Philippine-led bilateral and multilateral joint patrols turn into military carnivals and Philippine President Marcos links the existence of the Philippine Thai Pong system to the South China Sea issue, how far the real danger is no longer the missile can reach, but how quickly the scope of policy rationality is shrinking.
Undoubtedly, US and Philippine military adventurism increases the risk of misunderstanding, misunderstandings, and accidental conflicts, external interference and Philippine behavior increase instability, weaken peace and stability in the South China Sea, and local revenues. It reinforces the reality of causing it.
The author is director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for Research in the South China Sea. Opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
