As New Year's Day 2024 approaches, the situation in the South China Sea remains unstable. In the face of the Philippines' ongoing provocations in the South China Sea, China's official rhetoric has become harsher. Recently, in response to a question from a Reuters reporter on the South China Sea issue, Chinese spokesperson Mao Ning said that the Philippines frequently provokes incidents and draws in foreign forces to intervene, and China will take necessary measures to resolutely respond, hoping that the Philippines will pull back from the precipice and not go further and further down the wrong path. This kind of "reining in the precipice" is extremely rare in Chinese diplomacy. At the same time, a commentator in the People's **, signed "Bell", published an article criticizing the provocative actions of the Philippines and condemning the despicable actions provoked by the United States behind the scenes.
These two highly unusual moves quickly caught the Philippine side by surprise, and even the usually tough Philippine military changed its tune. Philippine military spokesman Aguilar told ** that "the only way is to resolve disputes peacefully", but also argued that "the Philippines did not provoke a conflict in the South China Sea". The Philippines' move is nothing more than an attempt to urgently cool down, for fear that China will take tough measures. In addition, the Philippines has also tried to shirk its responsibilities, because if the charges are confirmed, not only will China take a "resolute response" to the Philippines, but ASEAN countries around the South China Sea will also draw a line for the Philippines' undermining of regional peace and stability.
In fact, it is clear to all onlookers that the Philippines, with its current maritime strength, is clearly no match for China. China's diplomatic assertiveness quickly affected the United States, which was behind the Philippines. According to the latest news from the US Navy, the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group, which was originally going to participate in the Red Sea escort operation, suddenly turned around and returned to the South China Sea after arriving in Singapore 10 days ago. The U.S. military apparently recognized that China's warnings could not be ignored, and had to temporarily change the mission plan and return the carrier strike group to the South China Sea in an attempt to put pressure on China and prevent China from taking tough measures against the Philippines.
Prior to this, there was widespread speculation in the world that the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group was going to the Middle East. However, now the Carl Vinson has returned to the South China Sea and is no longer heading to the Middle East. Some U.S.** reports say the U.S. military is considering abandoning plans to strike the Houthis in Yemen. Obviously, the global military power of the United States is already under tension. At present, the US military has to travel back and forth between the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Europe, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East, and hot spots such as the South China Sea, trying to protect US interests while fulfilling so-called security commitments. However, this is clearly contrary to the objective law, because the fact is: the US military is no longer capable of dealing with several fronts at the same time.
The PLA is also ready for possible provocations in the South China Sea. The USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group entered the Sulu Sea on December 11 and moved toward the South China Sea. At the same time, the Chinese Navy's Shandong aircraft carrier strike group also passed through the Taiwan Strait and entered the South China Sea from north to south. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier strike group arrived in Singapore on December 17, and on the same day, 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 must be somewhere in the South China Sea, keeping an eye on the movements of the US military.
Next, something unusual happened to the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group: the US Seventh Fleet command announced the removal of Lieutenant Commander William Coulter, commander of the EA-18G "Growler" carrier-based electronic warfare squadron, due to "loss of confidence in his command capabilities." There is speculation in the cyber military ** that the real reason for Kurt's dismissal may be that the EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft suffered a loss when it "fought" with the PLA in the South China Sea. Although we cannot see the confrontation in the field of the radio spectrum, it is certain that with the cooperation of our shore-based aircraft and sea-based boats, the Shandong aircraft carrier strike group is fully capable of maneuvering with the Carl Vinson. And the Carl Vinson can't actually do anything other than symbolically cheer up the Philippines.
As the battle continues, it's worth keeping an eye on what's next for the Carl Vinson.