After the Philippine ambassador to the United States clamored for allowing the US military to use bases in the Philippines, Philippine officials burst into tears when attending an event held by the Chinese side, saying that they did not want their country to become a battlefield, and 24 hours later, foreign media found that the situation in the South China Sea was wrong.
Since a new round of standoff between China and the Philippines broke out at Second Thomas Shoal, tensions in the South China Sea have also intensified. The United States and the Philippines have also begun to take advantage of the issue, and the United States has not only publicly expressed solidarity with the Philippines, but also pulled its allies such as Japan and South Korea to condemn China. The U.S. and Philippine defense ministers also held a phone call, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirmed his security commitment to the Philippines and "supports the Philippines in defending its sovereignty in the South China Sea."
Not only that, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez also publicly clamored in an interview that the Philippines may allow the US military to use military bases in the Philippines if war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait. You must know that after the Philippines opened four new military bases to the US military last year, Marcos Jr. repeatedly promised that the United States would not be allowed to use Philippine bases to attack China.
The Philippine ambassador's remarks are tantamount to denying Marcos Jr.'s previous commitments, which not only means that the Philippines is ready to choose sides between China and the United States, but also pushes the Philippines further to the brink of war. However, in the following days, Philippine high-level officials began to soften their posture, and many officials, including Philippine Foreign Minister Manaro, called for dialogue between China and the Philippines.
And this month, a meeting is expected to take place in the relationship between China and the Philippines. At a time of ongoing tensions between China and the Philippines, a Filipino official burst into tears as he attended an event in China. It has been learned that two days ago, when China held a forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to commemorate the 70 th anniversary of the publication of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, Lambino, chairman of the Philippine Association for Chinese Understanding, also expressed his views.
He bluntly said that it is the current behavior of the Marcos Jr. government that has caused Sino-Philippine relations to become worse and worse, and the United States has played a very important role in this. Now the number of US military bases in the Philippines has increased to 9 months, which is a big problem for the Philippines.
Coupled with rising tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines is likely to descend into war. And Lamino directly shed tears when he said this, and he wiped his tears while saying that as a Filipino, he didn't want his country to really become a battlefield. Obviously, there are still many officials in the Philippines who have a clear view of the current situation.
Lambino, on the other hand, is a representative of the Friendship with China faction in the Philippines, and he has also made a lot of efforts for the friendship between China and the Philippines; he visited China 16 times last year, and this is the sixth time he has brought China this year. He also stressed that although the mainstream media in the Philippines are currently very fond of making some "anti-China" remarks, the vast majority of Filipino people still love China very much.
Lambino's remarks were also heartfelt, and he did not want to see his country fall victim to great power competition. It can also be seen from this aspect that the Filipino people are also very worried about the cooperation between the United States and the Philippines. It is worth mentioning that just 24 hours after this incident, foreign media found that the situation in the South China Sea was wrong.
It is reported that Agence France-Presse reported that in the past two days, images taken by commercial satellites show that the Chinese aircraft carrier "Shandong" appeared in the sea area about 360 kilometers away from the Philippines, and two days ago, the "Shandong ship" also appeared in the waters near Luzon Island in the Philippines.
This also shows that the "Shandong ship" has been patrolling the vicinity of the South China Sea in the past few days, and the sudden appearance of a Chinese aircraft carrier around the Philippines at this juncture must have a certain deep meaning. First, it is to warn the Philippines not to attempt to attack the South China Sea, especially to continue to supply warships that are illegally "beached" at Ren'ai Jiao.
Because not only the Chinese Coast Guard is in the South China Sea, but also PLA aircraft carriers and warships are also operating in the South China Sea, and everything in the South China Sea is under China's control. If the Philippines continues to step up its provocations against China, it will not only face the mainland's coast guard, but also whether the Philippines can afford this price will have to be decided.
Second, it is also China's response to the US-led RIMPAC exercise, in which the United States recently joined forces with 29 countries to conduct large-scale exercises in the Pacific, and even the US Marine Corps test-fired a new type of anti-ship missile in the waters around the Philippines.
The United States has made trouble at its "doorstep", and China naturally cannot turn a blind eye, so the appearance of the "Shandong ship" around the Philippines this time is also to warn the United States and its allies not to plot against misdeeds, and China is always paying attention to the situation around the South China Sea. In the face of external provocations, China has the ability and determination to fight back.
Therefore, it is also time for the Philippines to pay attention to the current China-Philippines relations, and blindly being led by the nose by the United States will inevitably make the Philippines pay a heavy price.
#军史观察团#