（國語）華盛頓強調，美菲共同防禦條約也適用於南海｜【 #軍事熱點】

The conflict between the Philippines and the Chinese maritime police in the South China Sea continues to escalate, and the heat in the South China Sea region is beginning to attract the eyes of the whole world. The latest conflict took place in Escoda Beach. The Chinese maritime police encircled the Philippine Coast Guard flagship and collided with it. This is the seventh conflict between Beijing and Manila in the South China Sea in the past month. On August 31, the Philippine Coast Guard flagship Teresa Macbana, a large multi-purpose patrol ship, was hit three times in a row by the Chinese maritime police's 5205 ship. In this conflict, the body of the Teresa Macbana was knocked out of a hole and caused other facilities to be damaged. During the conflict, the Chinese Communist Party encircled this 97-meter-long Philippine patrol ship made in Japan by multiple ships. Two of them, the Chinese Communist Navy's 837 tugboats, also took part in the operation. The video taken by the Philippine Coast Guard shows that the Chinese Communist Navy's tugboats approached the left and right sails of the Teresa Macbana respectively. In fact, the Chinese Communist Navy's ship also took part in the previous incident, including the incident on June 17, when the Chinese Communist Navy's tugboat pulled the Philippine ship out of the disputed area. On September 1, the U.S. State Department said in a statement that the U.S. condemns the CCP's dangerous and escalating actions against the Philippines' legal maritime operations in the South China Sea. Spokesperson Matthew Miller said that a Chinese maritime patrol ship and a Philippine maritime patrol ship operating in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines deliberately collided three times, causing damage to the ship and endangering the safety of the crew on board. The statement said that this is the latest issue in a series of dangerous and escalating actions taken by the CCP in the region throughout August. And reiterated that the joint defense treaty between the United States and the Philippines is also applicable to the South China Sea. Lei Powell, director of the Stanford University National Security Innovation Center's Sea Light Project, said that this was the first time he had seen the CCP's military deploy a tugboat to Escoda. Powell speculated that the CCP's naval tugboat was probably just trying to get the Teresa Macbana out of the Escoda waters, but he was not sure if the CCP's naval actions were some kind of military intervention. Because normally, only when a ship has a malfunction or cannot move on its own due to a certain reason, does it need the help of a tugboat. Contrary to the Philippine media, the official media of the Chinese Communist Party accused the Philippine Coast Guard of causing this incident. A video released by the CCP's maritime police claimed that the Philippine ship deliberately hit their ship, but the video filmed on the scene showed the collision taking place at the stern of the Teresa Macbana. After this incident, Manila decided to retain its Coast Guard flagship in Escoda and again called on the CCP to maintain restraint in the waters and air of the South China Sea. The Philippine National Maritime Commission issued a statement saying, we will not yield to harassment and aggression. Since April of this year, the Philippine Coast Guard flagship has been in conflict with the CCP's maritime police, navy and civilian ships on the sea. The reason why Manila sent the Coast Guard flagship to Escoda is because it is concerned that the CCP is trying to farm in the waters, similar to the case of the Mexican and Caribbean Islands. These islands are now being transformed into mature military bases. In recent weeks, the incidents around Escoda have been increasing at an alarming rate, including the collision of three ships and the Philippine mission to the dock. Although Manila used a Coast Guard helicopter to provide supplies to Teresa Macbana on August 28, the CCP's maritime police warned that if the Philippine side continues to use aircraft or ships to supply Teresa Macbana, there may be more collisions. Escoda is the name of the Philippines, and the West calls it the Sabina Strait. It is located about 200 kilometers northwest of the Philippines' Palawan Islands. Originally, the largest territorial dispute in the South China Sea was the Second Thomas Strait. A Philippine warship once again sank. In May this year, the Philippines sent a Coast Guard vessel to Sabina Strait because of the CCP's plan to build Sabina Strait into an artificial island. The Sabina Strait immediately became a point of dispute. The area is famous for its rich natural gas and other resources. In addition to the CCP's blockade of Philippine maritime supply operations, the CCP also destroyed three Philippine vessels in disputed areas in August. During this period, at least three air conflicts took place. As the sea and air disputes intensified, the Philippines expanded its cooperation with new and old partners. Powell said that the CCP's blatant violence can only successfully help the Philippines to unite its opponents and let them realize the dangers they are facing. On August 30, the Philippines and the Vietnamese officials met in Manila and promised to sign a defense agreement before the end of the year. On August 26-30, the US Commander-in-Chief of the Indo-Pacific Command, General Papalo, visited the Philippines. During the visit, he met with Philippine President Joe Marcus, Defense Minister Teodoro, and U.S. Army Commander-in-Chief Bulawna. Papalo and Bulawna visited the Bazaar Air Force Base in the Philippine state of Bambaya. They discussed how to strengthen the interoperability between the U.S. and the Philippine Armed Forces and how to effectively respond to a series of joint challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and discussed the upcoming military exercises and defense exchanges. Papalo emphasized the importance of the joint defense foundation that the U.S. and the Philippine Armed Forces continue to consolidate. The U.S. and the Philippines will continue to seek modernization development plans, joint planning and training in order to support bilateral agreements. Papalo told reporters that the Philippines, as the longest-standing treaty ally in the region, is one of the options for the U.S. military to protect the Philippine ships in the South China Sea. Papalo made it clear that the U.S. Navy is likely to protect the Philippine ships in the South China Sea. This is related to two facts. One is that the U.S. and the Philippines have a joint defense treaty similar to the Northern Treaty. The other is that the Chinese Navy has begun to participate in the gray zone conflict in the South China Sea. This is a very obvious signal that the Chinese Communist Party may be approaching a very dangerous critical point. However, the Philippine Armed Forces Chief of Staff Romeo Bulawna said, Only in the case of one-sided failure will Manila accept this proposal. In addition to further deepening the U.S.-Philippine alliance, the Philippines seems to be working hard to strengthen its own defense infrastructure to ensure the ability to fight external aggression. Recently, the Philippine Navy's land forces have adopted a new assault force armor system, support vehicles and artillery, including the V-300 armored transport vehicle, fire support platform and 105mm, 155mm grenade launchers and other land forces equipment. The Philippine land forces said, Given the challenging security environment of the Myanmar, strengthening the first naval land forces stationed there is of paramount importance to the Myanmar island community and maritime security. In addition to land forces, the Philippine Air Force is also considering purchasing new medium-range missiles and modernized jet fighters to enhance its military deterrence. On August 29, Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Todoro revealed that the Philippines plans to purchase up to 40 modern advanced fighter jets. Manila is currently reviewing the prices of multiple companies to find the most suitable weapons for its armed forces, but has not revealed the type of aircraft it is considering. With the recent escalation of tensions in the South China Sea, the Philippines is facing the most serious security threat in decades. Manila and Beijing have accused each other of causing a series of injured soldiers, shipwrecked ships and maritime patrols. The Philippine military said that the current plan to purchase the latest weapon system is to form an effective deterrence when armed conflict occurs with the CCP. For this, the Philippines first needs to improve its ability and self-reliance, and turn its armed forces into a world-class army. At present, the Philippines already has a Brahmos hypersonic cruise missile produced in India. The effective range of the missile is more than 500 kilometers and the cruising altitude is about 15 kilometers. This was obtained in a $3.75 billion agreement signed with India in 2022.