Bolstering Philippines’ ego with military aid dangerous game for US

By Zhang Jie Source:Global Times Published: 2015-3-4 0:43:01

Filipino authorities said on Friday that the US has begun flying its most advanced scout aircraft, the P-8A Poseidon, from a military base in the Philippines over flashpoint regions in the South China Sea during the first three weeks of February. Equipped with the most developed sensors and electronics in the US Navy arsenal, the P-8A's deployment will reinforce the US surveillance over China's coastal waters. This might be a "new normal" for US naval activities in the western Pacific.

Such a deployment demonstrates that Washington continues its rebalancing to Asia strategy and intends to ramp up the unity of its Asia-Pacific military alliance and foster more trust among its allies.

Highlighting a "positive" role played by the US-led alliance in Asia Pacific, Washington signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Manila in 2014, which allows the US to deploy fighters and warships in the Philippines. This agreement has greatly facilitated the activities of US troops in the South China Sea. Since 2014, close-in surveillance conducted by US ships and planes has greatly increased.

What the US is doing will undoubtedly make the South China Sea issue more complicated, and the complication will only make things worse, especially misleading the Philippines to make wrong choices. Manila is one of the most insatiable and stubborn claimants to the South China Sea. But the country is too weak to defend its claim.

Thus, in order to counterbalance China, Manila can only court Washington and take advantage of a military alliance with the US. This happens to be in line with US pivot to Asia. That is why Washington's traces can be found in many regional affairs such as the Philippines' appeal to international arbitration over the South China Sea disputes, the faceoff between China and the Philippines at the Ren'ai Reef, and the Philippines' three-step proposal on the South China Sea disputes.

Recent weeks have seen China's legitimate construction work in some of the Nansha Islands being distorted and hyped up. The US keeps offering real-time information about the construction work, gathered by P-8A planes, to the Philippines.

Such illusions will not only make the Philippines more reckless in blaming China, but also embolden it to be unscrupulous in maritime law enforcement. The risks of confrontation will increase and the stability of the South China Sea is in peril.

The deployment of the P-8A might cause more uncertainties over the Pacific Ocean. China's submarines and island construction will be put under much closer surveillance thanks to these advanced planes and the Philippines' provision of military base to the US.

But China won't slow down reinforcing its maritime forces to defend its national interests and realize the goal of military modernization. As their strengths are changing, competition between Beijing and Washington might break out on the seas. Although as of now, it is hard to establish real politics and security trust between both sides, China and the US should at least avoid accidents by adopting effective measures to rein in risks through dialogues and negotiations.

The author is an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn



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