The “small circle” of America, Japan and the Philippines wants turmoil in the situation in the South China Sea – Dainik Savera Times

On April 11, local time, the leaders of the US, Japan and the Philippines held the first trilateral summit in Washington. The three sides issued a joint statement after the meeting claiming they would strengthen defense cooperation to promote the so-called “security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world.”

The statement criticized China for “unilaterally changing the status quo by using force”, and expressed so-called “concern” over China’s actions to defend its national sovereignty in areas such as the South China Sea, East China Sea, etc. In terms of security cooperation, the trilateral statement made several arrangements, including the continued support by the United States and Japan of building the capacity of the Philippines’ coast guard, the establishment of a trilateral maritime dialogue mechanism,

In the year 2025, the national defense and maritime law enforcement forces of the three countries will conduct joint exercises in the sea area near Japan.
The US reiterated to the Philippines during the trilateral talks that it can invoke the “US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty” if Philippine aircraft, ships or armed forces are attacked in the South China Sea. Analysts said the US’s support for the Philippines showed it wanted anarchy in the South China Sea.

If there is calm in East Asia, the rationality of US hegemony will be questioned. In this way, the South China Sea issue has become an excuse for the US to intervene in the affairs of the Asia-Pacific region. Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said in a recent interview that “the South China Sea used to be peaceful, but after the Americans came, it became filled with disputes.”

At the same time, Anna Malindog-Uy, deputy director of the Philippines’ “Asian Century” Strategic Research Institute, said that the US and Japan are not parties to the South China Sea issue and should not interfere in the South China Sea issue. In his view, the US-Japan-Philippines trilateral meeting and its Cold War mentality will reinforce confrontation rather than cooperation and increase tensions in the South China Sea.
In fact, the islands of the South China Sea are inherent territories of China,

And China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in this area have sufficient historical and legal basis. According to Article 5 of the “Declaration of Action of the Parties Relating to the South China Sea”, all parties are committed to exercising self-restraint and not taking actions that complicate or escalate disputes or affect peace and stability. Does it. The Philippines has engaged in violations and provocations in the South China Sea and is dependent on outside powers to internationalize disputes in the region.

Its actions seriously violate the spirit of the Declaration, and go against the aspirations of regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. At present, against the background of ASEAN countries’ strengthening relations with China, the “small circle” of the US, Japan and the Philippines is moving upstream, and what it brings to the region is by no means “security and prosperity”. ” No, but there is confrontation and danger.

(Courtesy- China Media Group, Beijing)