Behind the US-Philippine military breakthrough, Asia is no longer just Asia for Asians

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting the Philippines after visiting South Korea.

The reason why this visit has attracted much attention is that the United States and the Philippines may announce a major military cooperation agreement.

The "Manila Bulletin" quoted US officials on February 1 as saying that the US hopes to reach an agreement this week that will allow the Philippines to open up to four military bases to the US military.

According to the "Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement" signed in 2014, the Philippines allowed five military bases to be opened to the United States.

Including Bautiska Air Force Base, Basel Air Force Base south of Manila, Fort Magsaysay base north of Manila, Lumbia Air Force Base in Mindanao and Ebuen Air Force Base in Cebu, but none of these five bases are in Luzon north of the island.

The United States wants the Philippines to open four bases this time, two of which may be located in Luzon Island in the north of the Philippines and Palawan Province in the southwest.

It was unclear where the other two bases would be located or how many U.S. troops would be involved.

In return, the United States offered to provide the Philippines with military assistance, including drones, so that the Philippine military can monitor the situation in the South China Sea.

South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness Initiative (SCSPI) news, the US Navy destroyer USS Decatur (USS Decatur) approached the Nansha Islands on the morning of January 30.

(Twitter @SCS_PI)

This is a new milestone in US-Philippines military cooperation.

Public opinion has pointed out that this move by the United States is expected to provide a strategic base for the US military to take action in the event of conflicts in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea.

More importantly, when the US-Philippines military cooperation continues to make breakthroughs, the US-Japan military cooperation is advancing at an unprecedented speed.

On January 26, the U.S. Marine Corps opened a new base in Guam. This is the first U.S. Marine Corps base established by the United States more than 70 years after the end of World War II. It is of great significance to deal with the challenges of mainland China.

According to the information provided on the website of the US Marine Corps, Camp Blaze will serve as the strategic logistics center of the US military in the Indo-Pacific region, and will play a key role in enabling the US to master deterrence and defense capabilities.

US media reported that if a conflict occurs, the Marine Corps will be one of the first ground forces to respond.

With the base, the U.S. military can deploy more Marines to Guam, moving closer to the front lines of a potential conflict.

U.S.-Japan-India relations: The picture shows the announcement of the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework" on May 23, 2022. (From left) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a group photo at the event announcing the establishment of the framework.

The event was held at the Izumi Gardens Convention and Exhibition Grounds in Tokyo.

(AP)

According to British media reports, Lieutenant General James Bierman, commander of the Third Expeditionary Force of the US Marine Corps, recently revealed that the armed forces of the US and Japan are rapidly integrating their respective command structures and expanding the scale of joint operations.

He claimed that the United States and its Asian allies "are preparing for a possible conflict with China, such as a conflict in the Taiwan Strait".

Japan's "Yomiuri Shimbun" also reported on January 10 that the United States is planning to reorganize the Marine Corps stationed in Okinawa before 2026 and create a "Marine Littoral Regiment" (MLR) with rapid response capabilities for the defense of outlying islands. , in order to improve the deterrence and response capabilities of the Chinese military.

With the support of the United States, Japan announced the largest military construction plan since World War II in December 2022. Japan's defense spending plan for the next five years may reach 43 trillion yen, an increase of 56%.

The Japanese government also previously announced the revision of a number of security documents, announcing that Japan will acquire a "counterattack capability" to launch attacks on enemy military bases.

As early as 2020, the US and India are already a paramilitary alliance or even an alliance.

The U.S. and India have a framework treaty, the U.S.-India Defense Relations Framework Agreement. From 2002 to 2020, they signed the General Military Information Security Agreement, the Memorandum on Logistics Exchange Agreement, and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement. ", "Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement on Geospatial Cooperation" and other four functional cooperation agreements are the pillars.

The 2020 US-Japan-Australia South China Sea exercise.

(Australian Defense Department)

While China's military strength is growing, the actions of the United States are not bluffing.

Adhering to the mentality of "I can not kill people, but I have to sharpen my knives", the arms race in the Asia-Pacific is actually accelerating its escalation.

In addition to the United States, European countries' military investment in Asia is also quite conspicuous.

British and Japanese leaders signed a "significant" new defense agreement in London on January 11 - the reciprocal access agreement, which is regarded as the most important agreement between Britain and Japan in more than a century.

It allows the two countries to plan and conduct larger and more complex military exercises and to deploy troops against each other.

In October 2022, the commander of the German Air Force will personally fly a fighter plane to Japan to participate in a joint exercise, which is the first time since World War II.

France is considering transferring 70% of its Rafale fighter production line to India.

The world economy is shifting its center of gravity to Asia, and European and American countries, which pursue business with swords, are investing more and more in the Asia-Pacific military.

The rise of China starts with Asia, but Asia is no longer just Asia for Asians. The environment around China is not optimistic, and it is unlikely that China will follow the Monroe Doctrine.

In the era of multi-polarization, besides the dual-core game between China and the United States, all major countries are eager to try.

Japan's military breakthrough was not coerced by the United States but actively used the support of the United States. The intention of the continental powers such as Britain, France and Germany to actively seek a situation in Asia is quite obvious.

In the future, China will not only have to face the suppression of the United States, but also have to deal with fierce competition from strong players.

Austin visits Manila British media: Philippines will open more bases for U.S. troops to enter U.S. media: U.S. military will soon be allowed to use key Philippine military bases U.S. Secretary of Defense visits South Korea and Filipino businessmen to strengthen cooperation in dealing with China and North Korea philippines for peace