As soon as China and the Philippines reached a temporary agreement, the United States could not wait to come out and disrupt the situation. The US military is expanding its military base in northern Australia. Former US Navy Captain Brian Mulvihill issued a statement saying that in order to deal with the situation in the South China Sea, the US military has formed a set of emergency plans, especially for the situation in the area around Ren'ai Reef.
Recently, US officials said that they would provide practical help to the Philippines. The expansion of military bases in Australia is to "support" the Philippines. It is reported that the US military will deploy F-35, F-22 stealth fighters, B-52 strategic bombers, transport helicopters and "Osprey" rotorcraft here. Doing so is of course to show off their strength. US experts and former Marine Corps Colonel Grant Newsome bluntly stated that whether it is through direct participation in the Philippines' maritime operations, or logistics support, intelligence support and air surveillance, the US military must demonstrate a full range of intervention capabilities in all aspects.
Now, the Philippines is not easy to fool. The US military cannot just deploy some troops to create a sense of security for the Philippines. Therefore, recently, Blinken and Austin visited the Philippines and held a "2+2" ministerial meeting on diplomacy and defense between the United States and the Philippines, following the example of cooperation with Japan.
The United States announced at the meeting that it would provide $500 million in military aid to the Philippines. It is reported that the money will be used specifically for infrastructure projects under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and the Philippines, as well as the construction, development and transformation of areas used by the US military within existing military bases, to further support the "joint training, exercises and interoperability" of the two countries' armed forces. Blinken also claimed that the money was to help the Philippines deal with "illegal aggression" from countries such as China. In addition to increasing military investment, the United States also intends to strengthen the Philippines' "inherent capabilities" such as cybersecurity capabilities. The United States will help the Philippines cultivate and maintain a capable and skilled cyber force and support the Philippine armed forces in establishing a new "cyber command."
US military generals openly said that the strengthening of security cooperation between the US and the Philippines is aimed at China. Philippine Ambassador to the US Romualdez even said that with the support of the US Congress, US military aid to the Philippines may double by next year.
In addition, the United States and the Philippines also announced that they had made progress in negotiations to reach a "Military Intelligence Protection Agreement", which is expected to be reached before the end of the year. According to Philippine officials familiar with the matter, this agreement is similar to the agreements reached by Washington with other allies and will allow the United States to provide the Philippines with advanced intelligence, more advanced weapons and surveillance systems, but these contents must not be leaked.
It is foreseeable that the Philippines, which has received unprecedented funding from the United States, will frantically stir up trouble in the South China Sea in the coming period of time. In fact, in a sense, the United States upgrades its military bases in the Philippines and establishes an intelligence sharing mechanism just to expand its military presence in the Philippines. In exchange, the Philippines needs to provide the United States with military bases, such as establishing radar stations and coastal monitoring stations, including the laying of sensors and other front-end facilities in the waters near the Philippines. The United States actually relies on the Philippines to expand its military intelligence network in the region to maintain its hegemony. In 1992, the US military withdrew from the Philippines, and the Philippines began to be truly independent, but in just over 30 years, the Philippines has gone the old way again. These US troops stationed in the Philippines are not a glory, but a shame. Its existence means that the Philippine government is led by the nose by the United States.
The Philippines seems to be independent, but it is not completely independent. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said a few days ago that China-Philippines relations have reached a crossroads. If something goes wrong or goes back on its promise, China will respond resolutely. The Philippines needs to think clearly about where to go. If it is not careful, it will be doomed.
These actions by the United States and the Philippines will intensify conflicts in the South China Sea and will only usher in stronger opposition and countermeasures from China. Today, China's maritime fleet has achieved significant growth, with more than 40 Aegis ships. Only the formation of 055-class destroyers, 052D destroyers and 054A-class frigates can already perform long-term combat readiness cruise missions in key waters such as the Nansha Islands.