As we all know, the South China Sea is one of the sea areas with the most complex security situation in the world. There are dozens of islands and reefs controlled by mainland China, as well as Taiping Island actually controlled by the Taiwan authorities, as well as Vietnam and Philippines. , , Malaysia and other neighboring countries have illegally occupied dozens of islands and reefs.
Recently, the People's Liberation Army and the Taiwan military held military exercises in the South China Sea almost simultaneously, but the Philippines suddenly jumped out to protest, claiming that the Taiwan authorities were conducting "illegal exercises."
The Taiwan military exercise location is on Taiping Island, which is actually under its control. The island is located in the middle of the Nansha Islands, and its geographical location is very important. According to information released by the island, Taiwan’s military conducted live-fire exercises at sea in the waters near Taiping Island in the past two days.
The Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested, claiming that such exercises were "illegal exercises." At the same time, the Sanya Maritime Safety Administration also issued a navigation warning recently, stating that the People's Liberation Army is conducting military training in some waters of the South China Sea and that other ships are prohibited from entering the relevant waters.
The details of the exercise are currently unclear to the outside world, but it should be a routine exercise of the South China Sea Fleet. In recent years, with the rapid improvement of its overall strength, the frequency of Chinese naval activities in the South China Sea has become more and more frequent, and neighboring countries have become accustomed to this.
But the question now is, why does the Philippines only protest against the military activities of the Taiwan authorities?
This may be due to the huge disparity in strength between the Philippine Navy and the Chinese Navy. After the 2012 Huangyan Island incident, mainland China has firmly controlled the core areas of the South China Sea through large-scale land reclamation. The Philippines' protest against the Chinese navy is purely asking for trouble.
On the other hand, the Philippines' seeking troubles with the Taiwan authorities is also a bit of an attempt to bully others.
The reason is very simple. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities insist on going against the mainland. As a result, they currently have little international living space, and the Philippines does not take them seriously.
In the past few years, there have been many vicious incidents in which the Philippine Navy seized Taiwanese fishing boats.
It is worth mentioning that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not yet unified, they hold the same attitude on the ownership of the South China Sea Islands, and both believe that these islands and reefs are China's inherent territory.
Although the forms of military training on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are different, they all invariably safeguard China's sovereignty. Before Tsai Ing-wen and others came to power, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait also had this consensus on the issue of Diaoyu Islands .
And this has led to an interesting situation. Even if cross-strait relations are currently not harmonious, neighboring countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam have to consider dealing with the authorities of mainland China and Taiwan at the same time.
In fact, the Philippines' performance this time was quite cunning, because they specifically chose Taiwan's military to "protest" to avoid a head-on confrontation with mainland China.
In fact, the scale of the training conducted by the Taiwan military on Taiping Island is not large. After the Philippines protested and the Taiwan authorities refuted it, there should be no follow-up development on this matter and it will not cause tension in the South China Sea.
But what the Philippines wants is this effect. Its purpose is to insist on speaking out on the South China Sea Islands and Reefs issue. On the surface, it is aimed at the Taiwan authorities, but in fact it is testing the attitude of mainland China on the South China Sea Islands and Reefs disputes.
The new president of the Philippines, Marcos Jr., has just taken office recently. Although Marcos Jr. said a lot of friendly words towards China during the campaign, it remains to be seen whether the new official will change Duterte 's pro-China policies.
They specifically carried out a "protest" against the Taiwan authorities. It was more like a tentative attack to test the mainland's determination to maintain the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. If they think the mainland is not tough enough, the Philippines may start trouble on the South China Sea islands and reefs again.
As for the Taiwan authorities, they may not have their own little ideas.
Taiping Island is the only island actually controlled by the Taiwan authorities in the Nansha . It is located in the middle of the "big triangle" of Subi Island, Meiji Island , Yongshu Island in the Nansha Islands of mainland China. From a military perspective, it has no defensive value.
If a war does break out between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait in the future, the defense forces deployed by the Taiwanese military will only surrender. Of course the Taiwanese authorities are aware of this, but they still have to conduct some drills from time to time to brush up their presence.
Anyway, mainland China is behind it. The Philippines, Vietnam and other countries only protested, but they did not dare to actually seize the island. Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China. This is not just a verbal statement. If the islands and reefs controlled by the Taiwan authorities are really attacked by foreign countries, the iron fist of the People's Liberation Army will make it impossible for the aggressor to return.
This is the clever trick played by the Taiwan authorities on the South China Sea issue. They took advantage of the powerful influence of the "One China Principle" to speak against mainland China, but in fact they relied on the protection of the People's Liberation Army to make a few moves in the South China Sea. .
Judging from the current situation, the subtle multi-party struggle in the South China Sea will not change in the short term. It is far away from the Taiwan Strait . Even if a conflict breaks out between the two sides in the future, it will not be a core conflict area.
After cross-strait reunification, Dongsha Island, Taiping Island and other islands controlled by the Taiwan military can simply change their flags.
On the other hand, the strength of the People's Liberation Army's South China Sea Fleet has increased by an order of magnitude in the past 20 years. Vietnam and the Philippines will not ask for trouble, nor will they provoke the islands and reefs controlled by the Taiwan military.
Before the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, the situation here will not change significantly, and the Taiwan military will always exist on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
