Philippines mobilizes an eight-nation coalition, positioning itself on the South China Sea coast, focusing on practicing the capture of islands and reefs
Australia and the Philippines launched a joint military exercise codenamed "Alon" off the coast of Palawan Province in the Philippines, with the scale setting a new high for their cooperation.
This exercise involved 3,600 soldiers, covering live-fire shooting, combat maneuvering, and beach assault, taking place near the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Notably, six countries - the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, and Indonesia - participated as observers, making this exercise effectively an organized deployment of eight nations at the edge of the South China Sea.
The core objective of the exercise is clearly directed towards landing and capturing islands and reefs.
The exercise also emphasized Australia's long-range deployment capability.
Destroyers, F/A-18 fighter jets, C-130 transport planes, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and special sniping weapons all made appearances, forming a three-dimensional exercise across sea, land, and air.
The beach assault segment was a key project, simulating how allied forces would advance from the open sea, quickly seize the beachhead, and establish positions.
Philippines providing coastal facilities and conducting joint drills with Australia obviously indicates some preparation is underway.
Even though the official statement of the exercise emphasized "cooperation and security," given the frequent friction in areas such as the Huangyan Island, everyone knows what's really going on.
It is worth noting that the number of participating countries in this exercise is significant.
In addition to the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States, the Philippines has also signed similar agreements with Australia and Japan, and is currently negotiating similar agreements with France and Canada.
This means the Philippines is embedding itself within the Western system, internationalizing the South China Sea issue.
The presence of observer countries is also a political gesture: although the U.S., Japan, Canada, South Korea, and New Zealand did not directly send troops, they backed the exercise through their military presence, indicating that this so-called exercise is actually a display of force by the eight-nation coalition against China.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1840593942723786/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.