BEIJING: Amid escalating tensions in the South China Sea caused by the Philippines’ repeated provocations over Chinese islands and reefs, a high-ranking US military officer has announced the US’ willingness to hold consultations on escorting Philippine ships in the region, a move Chinese experts said on Wednesday will only fan the flames and encourage Manila to make more infringing provocations.
Citing the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines, Admiral Samuel Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said at an international military conference in Manila on Tuesday that the US military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the South China Sea, the AP reported on Wednesday.
Attending the conference together with Paparo, General Romeo Brawner Jr, chief of Philippine Armed Forces, responded cautiously to the suggestion, reported the AP, which quoted a previous remark by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as saying that there has been no situation so far that would warrant activating the treaty.
The military conference in Manila, organized by the US Indo-Pacific Command, comes at a time when the Philippines has been continuously making infringing provocations on Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea including Ren’ai Jiao, Huangyan Dao and Xianbin Jiao, each time finding their trespasses restricted by legitimate, professional, restrained but forceful measures from the Chinese side.
Paparo’s remarks show that the US is not satisfied to see China’s effective management and control measures against the Philippine provocations, nor does it want to see tensions in the South China Sea settle down, because it needs the Philippines to remain at the frontline of its plan to contain China, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Wednesday.
But even the Philippines understands that it would be far too risky for the US military to provide escorts for Philippine trespassing attempts into waters off Chinese islands, the above-quoted expert said.
“If the US really sends warships to escort Philippine provocations, what will happen when they encounter Chinese restrictions? Will this lead to a direct confrontation between China and the US, a situation neither side wants to see? If the US backs down, not only will the US lose influence, the Philippines will also lose its biggest support for its claims in the South China Sea,” the expert noted. The US is just claiming it can provide escorts, which is lip service to encourage more Philippine provocations, while the Philippines does not dare accept the suggestion, the expert said. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
