The Philippines has frequently launched provocative actions in the South China Sea in recent years, especially in disputed areas such as Second Thomas Shoal and Scarborough Shoal. However, neither the Philippine Navy nor the Air Force can match the formidable power of the Chinese Navy. In every provocation, the Philippines has failed to succeed.
Especially now that many of China's main warships, such as the 052D destroyer, the 054 frigate, and even the 055-class 10,000-ton destroyer, are heading for the South China Sea and frequently holding military exercises, it is becoming more and more difficult for the Philippines to break into the island.
Under these circumstances, the United States has chosen to further increase its military presence in the Philippines to "support" the Philippines for its next trouble. Recently, the United States has taken advantage of the popularity of the RIMPAC military exercise to drag the Philippines into a live-fire exercise in the South China Sea.
According to reports, the US Marine Corps sent four F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters to launch seven GBU-32 precision-guided bombs at floating targets off the coast of West Luzon.
The exercise was commanded by U.S. Navy officers, and the Philippine Navy and Air Force conducted intelligence collection, surveillance, reconnaissance, and key intelligence obtained with the help of drones, which was transmitted to F-35B fighters through C-130 electronic command aircraft, and finally U.S. military officers were responsible for issuing specific combat orders.
In the course of the exercise, the F-35B fighters used the information they received to precisely locate and track the target. All tactical information is transmitted back to the Joint Command Center in real time. The news website of the US Naval Institute also deliberately reported in detail, disclosing the entire process and its tactical details. The US officer also proudly said that the training was very successful.
Even with the support of the U.S. military, the Philippines' combat effectiveness is not to be feared, what is the difference between this change to a live-fire exercise and the previous military exercises? What role did the Philippine military play? What are the far-reaching strategic goals of the United States?
We have noted that in this military exercise, the role played by the Philippines is to send drones to conduct preliminary reconnaissance, and it is the US military that specifically implements the target tasks and issues orders.
We can see from this that the US military intends to use the Philippines as an "outpost", and by letting the Philippine Navy and Air Force undertake reconnaissance missions, the United States can reduce its own risks and at the same time use it to confuse its opponents.
When the Philippines carries out large-scale harassment in the area of Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Jiao, China will quickly dispatch coast guard ships to intercept it. The U.S. military believes that although the Philippine naval and air forces cannot pose a threat to China's main fleet, they can create trouble for the Chinese fleet so that the United States can take advantage of the chaos to attack targets, which is also the focus of this live-fire training -- attacking Chinese ships or islands.
Through this military exercise, the U.S. military not only demonstrated its force in the South China Sea, but also proved to the outside world that the military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines has been upgraded from a simple exercise to a practical operation, and has a certain combat effectiveness. At the same time, it is also encouraging the Philippines to continue to willingly serve as a pioneer in the South China Sea.
In response to the actions of the United States and the Philippines, the PLA has also set up multiple lines of defense in the South China Sea.
The U.S.-Philippine coalition appears to have conducted a high-level joint anti-ship exercise in the South China Sea, but the results have been limited. In terms of strike capability, the Chinese military's air defense systems, such as the Hongqi-16 and Hongqi-9 missiles, have long-range strike capabilities and have become the biggest threat to the US F-35B stealth fighters. China's powerful long-range strike capability and air defense system are China's most powerful line of defense.
In the outer area of the South China Sea, there are 052D destroyers, 054 frigates and even 055-class 10,000-ton destroyers. At the same time, the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group also sailed into the waters near the Philippines, which is only more than 300 kilometers away from the Philippine coastline. However, the US aircraft carriers "Roosevelt" and "Reagan" were not in the South China Sea at this time. In today's situation, the United States itself will be limited in its own actions, let alone to support the Philippines.
It is a fool's dream to break through the defense line forged by the PLA's aircraft carriers and powerful fleet just by relying on live strikes by the United States and the Philippines.
According to the China Maritime Safety Administration and the Dalian Maritime Safety Administration, the Chinese fleet is conducting military training and missions simultaneously in the South China Sea and the northern Yellow Sea. All vessels are prohibited from entering the area during this period. In the Bohai Strait and the northern Yellow Sea, the exercise will last from the afternoon of June 30 to the afternoon of July 7. This is the third line of defense set up by the PLA.
What is certain is that no matter what the United States and the Philippines do in the South China Sea in the future, it will only meet with stronger countermeasures from China.
The Philippines is a typical example of picking up sesame seeds, losing watermelons, and putting a good future for development, but having to be tied up with the United States, which seems to have earned a little profit, but in fact, it is not only the national character of the country that has been lost, but also the interests of the people, and it is no wonder that Philippine official Lambino shed tears at the venue, saying that he did not want to see his country become a battlefield.