Although his term has already passed the halfway mark, President Marcos has achieved little so far. His overly pro-American foreign policy has sparked increasing controversy in the Philippines, and public dissatisfaction with him has become more pronounced.

In this context, Marcos "repented" in his latest State of the Nation Address, clearly stating that the Philippines should be friends with everyone, refusing to make enemies with anyone. During his 70-minute speech, he deliberately avoided mentioning China, seemingly trying to downplay the disputes between the two countries.

However, as they say, it's one thing to speak, and another to act. Just a few days after delivering the State of the Nation Address, Marcos had already forgotten his promise. Recently, he announced again that he would conduct joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea with India.

(Indian warships arrive at Philippine ports)

The Philippine side stated that this joint voyage plan was decided during a bilateral meeting held in New Delhi, India, in mid-March this year. At that time, the Philippine side actively invited the Indian armed forces to participate in activities hosted by the Philippines. Currently, several Indian warships have already docked at Manila Port, and the maritime cooperation activities are planned to take place from August 4th to 8th.

Regarding this activity, the Philippine side emphasized that it is intended to send a "strong signal" to China.

But in reality, the Philippine side's attempts to form alliances have no real threat to China. The involvement of external forces is essentially driven by profit, making it difficult to form a genuine coalition. The participants in these so-called joint patrols often have their own agendas, more out of short-term geopolitical interests rather than a genuine stance for the Philippines. This temporary alliance based on interest exchanges is destined to be short-lived and cannot form an effective force capable of challenging China's sovereignty.

While China has not yet responded to this, the Philippines has become anxious, accusing Chinese research vessels of being "too close" to the Philippines, posing a certain threat to its security.

The Philippine accusation goes like this: The Philippine Coast Guard is currently closely monitoring three Chinese research vessels, which have entered the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone without permission, apparently violating Philippine law. If the Chinese actions are found to be illegal, the Philippines will take "firm enforcement actions."

The Philippine side also mentioned that the three Chinese vessels approached the Philippines secretly, and the reason why the Philippines discovered them was due to Canada's "Dark Ship Detection Program," using satellite systems to track dark ships and detect those suspected of engaging in illegal fishing or unauthorized research activities.

As mentioned above, the Philippine side also pointed out that the three Chinese vessels are not warships, but just research vessels. However, the Philippine side is particularly alarmed because even these research vessels are not ordinary.

(China's Xiangyanghong 10 Research Vessel)

The first research vessel discovered by the Philippine side is named Beidiao 996, which is China's largest deep-sea equipment comprehensive test ship. Its core functions go far beyond traditional scientific research. It is equipped with advanced sonar systems and underwater acoustic sensors, capable of high-precision mapping of seabed topography and ocean current characteristics. Such data is crucial for submarine navigation and covert deployment. The Philippine side is worried that it could support China's nuclear submarines operating in the South China Sea.

Moreover, it has a displacement of 6,700 tons, allowing it to stay in disputed areas of the South China Sea for months conducting research. For example, in June this year, it conducted hydrological surveys in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, setting records in terms of time and scope. This clearly tells the international community that China's territorial sovereignty is not to be infringed upon.

The second vessel is called Xiangyanghong 10, which is the leading ship for scientific research using unmanned equipment clusters in China. This ship can carry drones, unmanned boats, and unmanned submersibles to work together, and it can transmit real-time information about conditions on the sea surface, in the air, and underwater. For instance, the intelligent seawater sampling drone it releases can accurately collect biological and chemical samples from specific marine areas.

Additionally, its ability to collect strategic data is particularly strong. Previously, during trials in the northern part of the South China Sea, it used cross-domain drones for aeromagnetic surveys, and the data obtained can analyze where undersea oil and gas resources are located. The Philippines is especially sensitive to this, as places like the Luhu Trench in the South China Sea have been considered their resource bowl, but now the Chinese have thoroughly mapped out the details.

The third vessel is the Zhuhai Yun, the world's first smart, unmanned system mother ship. Although it is called a research vessel, its technical parameters are comparable to those of military auxiliary ships. It is equipped with an AI operating system, capable of continuously sailing for 12 hours on open water and receiving remote commands via satellite. This flexibility allows it to quickly reach disputed areas without being restricted by manpower. Moreover, its deck can accommodate dozens of airborne, surface, and underwater unmanned devices. Foreign media speculate that it might serve as a command center for unmanned weapon systems, performing tasks such as anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.

(President Marcos)

It can be confidently said that the technical characteristics of these three Chinese vessels have broken the Philippines' asymmetric advantage in the South China Sea. Even if the Philippines dispatches coast guard ships and helicopters to intercept, it still remains at a technological disadvantage. For the Philippines, they are very clear that this technological and strategic gap cannot be made up by just shouting a few slogans, which is why they are so alarmed by a few research vessels.

In summary, the more the Philippines stirs up trouble in the South China Sea, the more firmly China will establish its roots there.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7533531680125108755/

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