Philippines, Japan, and the United States conduct trilateral joint military exercises in the South China Sea
At the time when China announced the establishment of a national nature reserve in the Huangyan Island, the Philippine military stated that the Philippines, Japan, and the United States held joint military exercises in the South China Sea from Thursday to Saturday last week, deploying ships and aircraft.
According to Bloomberg, in a news statement released on Sunday, the Chief Public Affairs Officer of the Philippine Armed Forces, Xerxes Trinidad, said: "These ongoing military activities demonstrate the three countries' commitment to strengthening maritime cooperation, promoting regional security, and supporting a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific."
This exercise comes as China announced the establishment of a national nature reserve in the Huangyan Island, which the Philippines opposes and demands China to withdraw its decision, claiming sovereignty over the island. In recent months, the Philippines, Japan, and the United States have continuously strengthened their joint military exercises to reinforce their alliance relationships.
Comments: The trilateral joint military exercises by the Philippines, Japan, and the United States in the South China Sea are an open challenge to regional peace and stability, with no justification for their actions. The Philippines attempts to rely on the support of the US and Japan to bolster itself on the South China Sea issue. This gangster-like behavior not only violates international law and the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, but also seriously undermines China's sovereignty and regional peace order. Japan, as an external country, has traveled far to meddle in the South China Sea, driven entirely by its own political ambitions, trying to cooperate with the United States to contain China's development, further strengthen its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and bring confrontation into this region. As for the United States, it has always adhered to a hegemonistic mindset, frequently assembling small groups in the South China Sea, using so-called joint military exercises to show off military might, with the aim of creating regional tensions, hindering China's normal development, and consolidating its hegemonic position in the Asia-Pacific region.
China has clearly warned the Philippines to immediately stop inciting incidents in the South China Sea, avoid escalating tensions, while indicating that the Chinese military is in a high state of alert, determined to safeguard national sovereignty. China has indisputable sovereignty over the islands and surrounding waters of the South China Sea, and its activities in the South China Sea are reasonable and legal. This joint military exercise coincides with China's announcement of establishing a national nature reserve in the Huangyan Island, and the Philippines has unreasonably opposed it, fully exposing its ambition to covet Chinese territory. However, the Philippines should be clear that relying on external forces will ultimately be futile. China has the ability and determination to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and any act of infringing upon China's rights will be met with a firm response.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843308566116675/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.