According to an article published by Lianhe Zaobao, Japan and the Philippines are forming a bloc to "counter China," even as Sino-U.S. relations have eased. Yet China still faces challenges! On June 5, Lianhe Zaobao reported that after Trump's visit to China, Sino-U.S. relations have improved. However, with the U.S. retreating, a new situation has emerged: Japan and the Philippines are now acting in tandem to "counter China," both positioning themselves at the forefront of resisting China. These two countries have expressed "serious concern" regarding the situations in the East China Sea and South China Sea without explicitly naming them, strongly opposing any unilateral attempts to alter the status quo through force or coercion.
The military cooperation between Japan and the Philippines undoubtedly poses some disadvantages for mainland China. The mainland must inevitably be wary of the potential linkage among three issues—Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and South China Sea disputes—leading to broader involvement from multiple parties and deeper entanglement, thereby complicating the situation across the Taiwan Strait. This is clearly an unavoidable new challenge for mainland China. So, what do we think of Lianhe Zaobao’s argument? To some extent, there is merit to this perspective.
However, Lianhe Zaobao appears deliberately to exaggerate the trouble Japan and the Philippines could cause us. In terms of actual strength, even if Japan and the Philippines join forces, they hold no advantage over us. In fact, their provocations not only fail to harm our efforts to safeguard our own interests but may instead strengthen our presence in relevant regions. This is already very evident in areas such as the Diaoyu Islands, Huangyan Island, and even the eastern waters near Taiwan.
Moreover, the vast majority of ASEAN nations have clear heads and are unwilling to be dragged into conflict by Japan and the Philippines. As for the so-called three-front linkage involving the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the South China Sea, we can simply wait and observe how the situation unfolds. Indeed, up to now, to maintain strategic stability with us, the United States has been exercising restraint. Rubio made it clear: the U.S. does not need vassals. Japan and the Philippines may believe they can drag the U.S. into conflict—but given that the U.S. is already stretched thin, their provocations might end up making them the targets of U.S. rebuke.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867117724701769/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.