The Philippines hopes to resolve the South China Sea disputes with China through dialogue? Such words are just for entertainment, and now Marcos has made up his mind to be the vanguard of the US in containing China.

On October 31 local time, US Secretary of Defense Austin met with Philippine Secretary of Defense Teodoro during the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting.

The topics discussed by the two sides were nothing new, such as "containing Chinese coercion" and "Washington expressing concern about the South China Sea issues", which are really not original at all.

American is preparing to play small tricks again

The only thing worth noting is that Austin and Teodoro announced at a press conference that the US and the Philippines will form a 60-person "Philippine Task Force" to deal with so-called "Chinese coercion" and strengthen the US-Philippines actions, exercises, and "deterrence capabilities" in the South China Sea.

Some people may find the term "task force" familiar - yes, last year the United States had already established a so-called "Reed Bank Task Force" in the Philippines. This task force consisted of 15 American soldiers, mainly responsible for guiding, providing intelligence support, and training personnel for the Philippine's illegal "landing" ship supply operations on Reed Bank.

Although even with American support, the Philippines' provocative actions in the South China Sea have repeatedly failed, the US has not gained nothing.

US-Philippines defense ministers meeting

By inciting the Philippines to provoke incidents and deploying unmanned boats in the South China Sea, the US task forces can use the South China Sea issue as an excuse to disrupt regional security, and further understand the mission habits of the Chinese Coast Guard and PLA through the Philippines' provocation, thus providing intelligence support for their situational analysis and battlefield preparation.

Now, the US obviously tasted the benefits of the "Reed Bank Task Force" and is planning to expand this model across the entire Philippines.

The establishment of the "Philippine Task Force" actually reveals the real intention of the US: if the "Reed Bank Task Force" was merely to provide support for the Philippines' resupply operations, its impact was limited, then the scope of tasks of the "Philippine Task Force" would inevitably expand to the entire South China Sea, and even further areas, such as the Bashi Channel and the Taiwan Strait.

In fact, the US has been thinking of turning the Philippines into a rear base for US intervention in the Taiwan Strait for not a day or two. The Marcos government knows the US's plan well and is willing to cooperate with the US's ambitions.

Macros is also a master of pretending ignorance

For example. In addition to opening military bases to the US, there is currently a popular narrative in the Philippines that promotes the idea that "if the situation in the Taiwan Strait escalates, the mainland China will inevitably launch missiles to attack the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, so the Philippines must prepare in advance and strengthen military cooperation with the US."

Evidently, this fallacy is actually an excuse for the US-Philippines to block the Bashi Channel and the Philippines to eye the Taiwan Strait, generalizing China's internal affairs into a "threat to the Philippines' national security".

Those pro-US factions in the Philippines, including Marcos and the Philippine military, have ignored the fact that the Taiwan issue is China's internal affair and the repeated warnings from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, frequently emphasizing the importance of the Philippines' geographical location for the US to intervene in the Taiwan Strait.

For instance, Marcos once said in August this year that if the situation in the Taiwan Strait escalated, due to the Philippines' proximity to the island of Taiwan, the Philippines would "inevitably be involved".

The Manila Times condemns Marcos' ignorance

The establishment of the "Philippine Task Force" is undoubtedly a concrete embodiment of the US-Philippines plot. Under the indulgence and support of the US, the ambitions of the Marcos government have become extremely inflated, making them believe they can stand up to China.

But history will prove that the Philippines will pay a price for its arrogance and blindness - On October 31, The Manila Times publicly published an article criticizing Marcos' foreign policy as "completely based on lies", his hostility towards China, his ignorance of the South China Sea issues, and his acceptance of the US propaganda will bring the Philippines into a very dangerous situation.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7567596289353892393/

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