New Year's Day 2024 is approaching, and the situation in the South China Sea remains volatile. In the face of the Philippines' continued provocations in the South China Sea, China's official statements have become increasingly firm. Recently, in response to a Reuters reporter's question on the South China Sea issue, Chinese spokesman Mao Ning said that the Philippines frequently uses issues such as Ren'ai Jiao to provoke incidents and attract foreign forces to intervene. Therefore, China has no choice but to take necessary measures to resolutely respond to it, and hopes that the Philippines will stop its provocations and not embark on the wrong path. In a rare move, China made a diplomatic statement to "stop provocations". At the same time, on the same day, People** published a commentator's article signed "Bell", entitled "Provocations in the South China Sea Ignoring China's Goodwill and Restraint Are Extremely Dangerous", which not only denounced the provocative actions of the Philippines, but also severely criticized the despicable acts provoked by the United States behind the scenes. These two highly unusual moves immediately caught the Philippine side at a loss, and even the Philippine military, which has always taken the most hawkish position, changed its tune.
Philippine military spokesman Aguilar told ** that "a peaceful settlement of disputes is the only way," but also argued that "the Philippines has not provoked a conflict in the South China Sea." The Philippines' move is nothing more than an attempt to reduce tensions, because they fear a real response from China, and at the same time, they are rushing to shirk responsibility, because once they admit China's accusations, not only will China respond "resolutely", but ASEAN countries around the South China Sea will also draw a line with the Philippines. It is clear to all observers that the Philippines' current maritime capabilities, including naval and coast guard forces, are no match for China. China's assertive diplomatic rhetoric quickly reverberated the United States, which is behind the Philippines. According to the latest news from the US Navy, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group, which was originally scheduled to go to the Middle East to participate in the so-called Red Sea escort operation, has turned around overnight and returned to the South China Sea. The U.S. military, apparently aware of the seriousness of China's warning, had to temporarily change its mission plan and return the carrier strike group to the South China Sea in an attempt to put pressure on China to prevent China from taking tough measures against the Philippines.
The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group was initially widely speculated to be heading to the Middle East, as it was the only U.S. carrier to integrate F-35C carrier-based fighters. In the face of Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have successfully shot down Saudi F-15 fighters, and have certain air defense capabilities, the US military is not sure whether non-** fighters can ensure air supremacy. However, with the USS Carl Vinson turning back to the South China Sea and canceling its trip to the Middle East, some U.S. reports are saying that the U.S. military is considering abandoning plans to strike Yemen's Houthis. This shows that the global military power of the United States has been limited. At present, the U.S. military can only continue to respond to various crises, scattered in Europe, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict areas in the Middle East, and hot spots such as the South China Sea, to fully safeguard the interests of the United States, and fulfill the so-called security commitments to "allies". However, this approach is clearly contrary to objective laws, since it turns out that the US military is no longer able to deal with several fronts at the same time. The latest satellites** show that China's Shandong aircraft carrier is not docked at the dock of the Sanya military port. In the face of a possible challenge from the US military in the South China Sea, the PLA is ready to respond at any time.
On December 11, the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group entered the Sulu Sea and moved toward the South China Sea. At the same time, the Chinese Navy's Shandong aircraft carrier strike group also entered the South China Sea from north to south through the Taiwan Strait. The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group arrived in Singapore on December 17, and at the same time, foreign media released a satellite of the Sanya military port**, showing that the Shandong aircraft carrier was not docked at the home port dock, so it can be determined that it must be somewhere in the South China Sea, keeping an eye on the movements of the US military. Over the next few days, a strange thing happened aboard the USS Carl Vinson: the US Seventh Fleet command announced the removal of the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Coulter, commander of the carrier-based electronic warfare squadron deployed on the EA-18G "Growler", due to "loss of confidence in his command capabilities." There is speculation in the cyber military ** that the real reason for Kurt's dismissal is likely to be the losses suffered by the EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft during the confrontation with the PLA in the South China Sea.
Although we cannot directly witness the confrontation in the field of radio spectrum, it is certain that with the cooperation of our shore-based aircraft and sea boats, the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group will definitely be able to compete with the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group. Comparatively speaking, the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group is unable to take substantive action other than to cheer up the Philippines. The focus remains on the Carl Vinson's next move, and the battle continues.