The appearance of the Chinese 052D destroyer at a joint military exercise involving the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines triggered an intense reaction from Filipino journalists.

052D ship "invited to participate" in US-Australia-New Zealand-Philippines exercises, Philippine journalist angry and scolded: How could it be like this?

The "multinational maritime cooperation activity" held by the four countries of the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines, which began on October 30, 2025, has fallen into a delicate embarrassment. At the exercise site where the four countries' warships gathered, China's six warships were closely watching nearby. The frequent approach of the 052D destroyer and the electronic intelligence ship caused an embarrassing situation for the Pentagon.

The joint military exercises of the four countries were originally a stage to demonstrate military strength, but unexpectedly became a display window for power comparison. The US Navy's Nimitz aircraft carrier suffered two consecutive plane crashes, losing one F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet and one MH-60 Seahawk helicopter, with about $100 million worth of equipment lost.

Facing the aggressive military exercises of the four countries, China dispatched the 052D destroyer and the 815A electronic intelligence ship to conduct close monitoring within a distance of three nautical miles.

In response to the "invited participation" of Chinese warships, the Philippines reacted strongly. Philippine journalists were emotionally agitated and even scolded at the scene: "How could it be like this?" This reaction is the helplessness brought by the disparity in strength.

In fact, it has become a routine for China to send electronic reconnaissance ships to monitor foreign military exercises up close. As early as 2017, the 815A ship approached the east coast of Australia, forcing the US military to shut down the "Aegis" radar.

The core logic behind the US-led military exercises is to continue the "Indo-Pacific strategy" of "agent containment", trying to make the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and other countries play the role of containment. However, China still has a crushing advantage when facing a single opponent, which makes the situation very awkward.

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1847734420025483/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.