After China has, for three days, simulated the “closure” of the island of Taiwan, the United States and the Philippines begin, this Tuesday, April 11, joint military exercises supposed to simulate the “recovery of an island which allegedly abducted,” said Philippine Armed Forces spokesman Col. Michael Logico. After the opening ceremony in Manila, 12,200 American soldiers, 5,400 Filipinos and just over a hundred Australians began large-scale exercises in the South China Sea.
Among this “wide range of military operations”, we can mention the amphibious landing on the island of Padawan, located near the Spratly Islands, claimed by both China and the Philippines, or the helicopter landing on the largest island of the country, that of Luzon, located 300 kilometers from Taiwan. This important contingent – the largest in the joint history of the two countries – will have at its disposal top quality weapons, such as the Patriot missiles and the Himars rocket system.
Cooperation dictated by circumstances
If the military maneuvers between the two countries are not new – the archipelago even signed in 2014 an agreement to expand defense cooperation with the Obama administration – Washington’s relations with the former Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte , were not good, to the point that the latter spoke several times of “separation”. On the contrary, the current Head of State, Ferdinand Marcos Junior, understood the need to strengthen ties with this powerful ally. Indeed, China and the Philippines are fighting over the sovereignty of several islands, and Beijing’s attempts to intimidate Taiwan are cause for concern in Manila. For their part, the United States has, thanks to this ally, several strategic military bases which could dissuade Beijing from launching an operation on Taiwan. At the beginning of April, an agreement was even concluded so that Washington would have four additional military bases.
From April 8 to 10, China flexed its muscles, congratulating itself on the “success of its training operations” around Taiwan. Place, now, at the American moment. This Monday, April 10, a United States destroyer, the USS Milius, sailed in waters claimed by China, furious at what it considers to be an intrusion. “The guided-missile destroyer USS Milius conducted an illegal intrusion into waters adjacent to the Meiji Reef in China’s Nansha Islands without the approval of the Chinese government,” said Tian Junli, spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command. Chinese army, in a press release. An angry reaction, even before the serious exercises begin.