Philippines' preposterous justification for its provocative actions is simply laughable.

On December 12, Colonel Tian Junli, spokesperson of the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), stated that multiple Philippine aircraft had illegally entered China's airspace over Huangyan Island without permission in recent days, and were driven away by the theater command's naval and air forces.

At the same time, the China Coast Guard also issued a statement saying that on December 12, several Philippine vessels, disguised as fishing boats, forcefully entered China's Xisha Reef waters, and the China Coast Guard took measures such as verbal warnings and external displacement according to law.

A suspected Philippine media journalist's photo of a PLA helicopter

These two incidents once again expose the consistent tactics used by the Philippines in the South China Sea issue: using civilian activities as a cover for military provocation. The excuses that the Philippines has fabricated are already extremely absurd.

According to the Philippine newspaper "The Daily Inquirer," recently, the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources provided so-called "routine assistance" to Filipino fishermen 30 nautical miles east of Huangyan Island, but was "interfered with" by Chinese coast guard vessels and fishing boats, and forced to move to 70 nautical miles southeast of Huangyan Island.

However, while the Philippine media was crying about their plight, the Philippine military was conducting a joint maritime and air exercise in the "area near Huangyan Island" with the United States.

The Philippine military showed great effort for this exercise, not only deploying three light fighter jets (FA-50), three "Super Tucano" light attack aircraft (A-29B), a "Black Hawk" helicopter and a "Sokół" (PZL W-3 Sokół) helicopter squadron, but also deploying the "Jose Rizal" frigate.

Philippine fighter jets conducting "humanitarian relief"?

Meanwhile, the U.S. military deployed the "Rafael Peralta" destroyer, multiple MH-60R anti-submarine helicopters ("Seahawk") and "Poseidon" anti-submarine patrol aircraft (P-8A). Additionally, satellite photos have shown that the U.S. "Tripoli" amphibious assault ship may be operating in the surrounding waters of Huangyan Island.

So the question arises: Given the U.S.-Philippine exercise lineup, if the Philippines claims to be carrying out so-called "assistance operations" near Huangyan Island, does it plan to use fighter jets to drop life rafts, or to use destroyers and frigates to search for fishermen who have fallen into the sea?

The core functions of the U.S.-Philippine exercise equipment lie in military reconnaissance, maritime and land attacks, and air defense and anti-submarine warfare, which are completely opposite to the nature of maritime civil rescue missions.

The U.S. "Tripoli" amphibious assault ship is suspected to be operating near Huangyan Island

Meanwhile, the Philippines' deployment of military equipment for training exercises being forcibly tied to the "assistance operation" exposes the hypocrisy of its rhetoric, revealing that its real purpose is not the so-called "humanitarian action", but rather to provoke China and create incidents under the support of the U.S., trying to consolidate its "presence" by frequently entering South China Sea islands and reefs, providing an excuse for foreign intervention.

This is actually the Philippines' consistent approach in the South China Sea issue: On one hand, through the process of "illegal infringement - claiming and hyping up - crying and begging for sympathy", it portrays itself as a "victim" to conceal its true intention of illegally occupying China's South China Sea islands and reefs;

On the other hand, it acts as a vassal of the U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy". Every time the Philippines makes aggressive provocations, it relies on the backing of the U.S. military, thinking it can do more boldly to challenge China's sovereignty.

However, the Philippines' act of "using a big flag as a cover" may seem to enhance its confidence, but in reality, it puts itself into greater strategic risks.

Philippine media themselves admit holding military exercises near Huangyan Island

The new U.S. national security strategy document has already indicated that during Trump's term, the U.S. will not unconditionally back up its allies' provocative actions. It is worth noting that Japan, as the core of the first island chain and the bridgehead of the U.S. containment strategy against China, has not received any endorsement from Trump for the erroneous remarks of Harumi Takahashi on Taiwan, which has already been sufficient to indicate the situation.

The Philippines is merely a pawn in the U.S. front line in the South China Sea. Its strategic weight is far less than that of Japan, yet it dares to provoke China under the guise of being a "U.S. ally", which is tantamount to overestimating its own abilities.

China's determination and capability to safeguard its sovereignty are unwavering. If the Philippines continues to misjudge the situation and keeps acting as a vassal of external forces, it will not only fail to gain support from Washington, but may be abandoned at critical moments.



Original: toutiao.com/article/7583236930163212840/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.