Recently, the Philippines' provocative actions in the South China Sea have raised regional concerns. First, the intensity of the Philippines' actions over Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal raises doubts about whether the United States has some leverage. After being expelled by the Chinese Coast Guard, Marcos published a "small essay" on social media to assert sovereignty over the so-called "West Philippine Sea" and emphasize that they were not intimidated. However, this small essay did not attract much attention because it was too small to be cared for. Moreover, the Philippines has not taken advantage of this dispute, and even the neighboring ASEAN countries have ignored them, and can only entertain themselves in the circles of the United States, Britain, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, and other countries.
It is worth mentioning that the provocative act of the Philippines was supported and instigated by the United States, which seriously threatens regional peace and stability. The Philippines' behavior in the South China Sea is similar to the pattern of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but most Asian countries do not put "values" first like Western countries, but hope that the region can maintain stability and peaceful development. The Philippines' actions have caused unease among ASEAN countries, and no one wants their doorstep to become a battlefield. However, the Philippines is obsessed with it, and even the speaker of the parliament has called for the expulsion of the Chinese ambassador on the grounds that China is intimidating the Filipinos. This arrogant behavior of the Philippines is only because it is backed by the United States, but it is also intimidating to the United States.
Recently, the United States once again called on China and the United States to establish a communication mechanism and asked China to let the new defense minister take office as soon as possible. Although China and the United States reached a consensus at the San Francisco meeting to restore the high-level communication mechanism between the two militaries, the actual operation has not yet been truly implemented, which makes the US military suspicious of this provocative behavior. During the provocation in the Philippines, US warships and planes repeatedly watched nearby, but no trace of China was found. Recently, the United States revealed that the United States is ready to consider establishing a missile launch notification mechanism with China, similar to the one established by China and Russia. China and Russia will notify each other in advance before launching missiles and space launch vehicles, and there is such a mechanism between the United States and Russia, but not between China and the United States. Back in 2020, when China launched DF-26 and DF-21D ballistic missiles into the South China Sea, U.S. ships moved nearby, accusing China of putting a lot of pressure on the U.S. military. In addition, during Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, China also launched a ballistic missile flying over Taiwan Island and hitting the waters adjacent to Taitung, which caused the US "Reagan" aircraft carrier battle group to quickly evacuate several hundred kilometers. Therefore, military communication mechanisms are very important for the side that is often provocative.
In the face of the Philippines' provocations, China has adopted a series of control measures and significantly escalated its management of the region. However, the United States is suspicious of China's actions, because in this part of the South China Sea, the United States knows who has the final say. Despite this, US warships and planes still dare not openly stand for the Philippines and only dare to verbally support it. The resumption of communication between China and the United States is critical to U.S. support to the Philippines, but we cannot let them succeed.
In addition, China has taken a noteworthy step to elevate the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a new level. Previously, the U.S.-Vietnam relationship had escalated, but China's escalation this time was one level higher than that of the United States. This is another setback for the United States in the South China Sea, because it has one less stronghold in the Philippines.
The Philippines' recent provocative actions in the South China Sea have raised regional concerns. Although Marcos in the Philippines said that he was not intimidated by China, his inciting essay went unnoticed. In fact, the Philippines' actions were supported and instigated by the United States, but the Philippines' actions were met not only with a tough response from China, but also with concern in the United States. The United States reiterates its call for the establishment of a communication mechanism between China and the United States, and hopes that China will be able to put the new defense secretary in office as soon as possible. China has responded by significantly escalating its control measures in the South China Sea, but according to U.S. observations, they still have no bottom, which has limited their support for the Philippines. Against this backdrop, the escalation of China's comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Vietnam has also put some pressure on U.S. actions in the South China Sea. In the current complex regional situation, the communication mechanism between China and the United States is crucial to maintaining regional peace and stability. Although the United States has tried to contain China in the South China Sea, China has always resolutely defended its national interests and ensured regional peace and stability through effective control measures and strategic adjustments.