Nowadays, people around the world have tacitly agreed that where there is the United States, there will be no jokes. Let’s take a closer look at the latest jokes in the South China Sea.
The large-scale joint military exercise “Shoulder-to-shoulder 2025” launched by the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea and around the Taiwan Strait has been launched since April 21 and will last until May 9. The scale is the largest in recent years.
About 9,000 US troops and 5,000 Philippine troops participated in it. Australia, Japan, Britain, France, Canada and other countries also sent small teams to join in the fun, and 16 countries were invited to observe.
However, this exercise, which was originally intended to demonstrate US-Philippine military cooperation and deterrence, made countries cover their mouths and try not to laugh out loud due to a series of accidents and oolong incidents.
On May 5, off the coast of Zambales Province, Philippines, an exercise to sink a target ship that was supposed to demonstrate the joint firepower of the United States and the Philippines shocked the global crowd.
When the US F/A-18 fighters and the Philippine F/A-50 fighters were preparing to attack the target ship Miguel Malvar, the 81-year-old World War II ship suddenly refused to cooperate.
It sank to the bottom of the sea at 7:20 am due to excessive water inflow during the towing process, without even waiting for a missile.
This patrol ship with a full load displacement of only 929 tons has also experienced countless ups and downs. It fought for the US military in the Atlantic and Pacific in 1944, and after retirement, it moved to South Vietnam and the Philippines, and was retired from the Philippine Navy in 2021.
According to the plan, it should be an obedient live target of the US-Philippines three-dimensional firepower network, accepting joint strikes involving air-launched missiles, naval guns and even the Australian Army, completing the last mission and then dying gloriously.
But the reality is that it withdrew early due to “too old + bad sea conditions” only 4 nautical miles away from the target range, which made the Philippine Navy spokesperson angry and could only blame it. We are only “the last kilometer” away from success.
The US missile asked: “I haven’t fired yet, why did you fall down?”
The Malvar replied: “Doesn’t this show that you are a good shooter?”
Now the netizens understand that the first step of the US military’s precision strike is to scare the target ship into sinking. Everyone’s ridicule of the farce of the patrol ship sinking in the sea is heartbreaking and straightforward. The target ship protested by sinking: Don’t waste missiles, can’t I go down by myself?
This self-sinking military exercise not only exposes the problem of aging equipment. In the past Pacific Rim exercises of the US military, the target ships were thousands of tons of destroyers or even amphibious assault ships. Now they use World War II boats to fill the numbers, which inevitably makes people wonder: Is it showing off muscles or swell up their faces?
On the same day that the target ship sank itself, a drama of defeating the enemy with fewer people was staged over Huangyan Island in the South China Sea.
The United States and the Philippines sent a luxurious lineup of 7 aircraft to approach Huangyan Island, trying to simulate an air strike. Of course, the People’s Liberation Army will not indulge them. Two J-16 heavy fighters took off from Yongxing Island and arrived quickly, engaging in close combat with them.
Taiwanese media quoted the Philippine military as saying that the J-16 had taken tough actions and repeatedly cut into the US-Philippines fleet’s route, released jamming bombs and displayed the mounted air-to-air missiles. After the confrontation lasted for several hours, the US-Philippines fleet retreated and turned around to flee from the airspace over Huangyan Island.
The main bomber B-1B dispatched by the US military this time was jokingly called the key force in the Asia-Pacific region, but it had no advantage in front of the two J-16s.
Military expert Li Zhengjie pointed out the truth. The B-1B took off from Guam to Huangyan Island, with a one-way distance of more than 2,000 kilometers, and the endurance pressure was great. The J-16 relied on Yongxing Island and had a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers to completely cover the area. The home advantage was obvious at a glance.
What’s more embarrassing is that as the host, the Philippine F/A-50 fighter jets could only help the US bombers throughout the whole process.
Some netizens complained that the Philippines thought it was the leading actor, but it turned out to be just the human navigation of the US military.
Behind this farce, the strategic game calculations of the United States and the Philippines are not spared at all.
The United States has set its sights on the geographical location of the Philippines, which controls the South China Sea and the Bashi Channel and is a key node in the first island chain. After adding four new military bases, the US military can quickly deploy troops to the South China Sea.
However, the strength of the Philippine army is sluggish, and its main equipment is mostly second-hand US warships and South Korean obsolete fighter jets. Even the target ship that sank this time is a grandfather-generation warship of the US military in the last century.
The exercise subjects further exposed the unequal status of the two sides. The US military was responsible for high-tech work, such as HIMARS rocket shooting and Patriot air defense system exercises.
The Philippines can only do odd jobs like a younger brother, such as sending fishing boats to simulate harassment and using old fighter jets to make up the numbers.
The Philippines is like a puppet of the United States, pushed to the front to provoke China. Once something happens, the US military can shirk the blame and leave at any time. It can be said that it passes through a bush of flowers without getting a single leaf on it.
What’s even more bizarre is that the United States sells Tomahawk missiles with a range of 1,600 kilometers to Australia, while requiring other countries not to export weapons with a range of more than 300 kilometers. This is clearly a case of allowing the state officials to set fires.
Philippine netizens complained that the United States used the Philippines as a shield, but never sincerely helped to improve its military strength, and even the target ships were broken ships that the US military didn’t want!
The United States and the Philippines are making a fuss in the South China Sea like children playing house, but our counterattack is always steady, accurate and ruthless.
On the one hand, the People’s Liberation Army sent the 054B frigate Qin to conduct live-fire training in the South China Sea. The new ship sank the towed target in its first show, successfully demonstrating the combat effectiveness of the 5,000-ton stealth frigate.
On the other hand, the Qinglan Maritime Safety Administration issued a navigation warning in advance, set up a no-fly zone near Huangyan Island, and directly took over the relevant waters with military training. The subtext of our family is clear, my territory, I have the final say.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun was even more outspoken. The Philippines’ military exercises with countries outside the region are destroying regional peace. Those who play with fire will get burned!
This is not empty talk. In the 2024 Ren’ai Reef standoff, Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons to drive away Philippine supply ships; this time, the J-16 drove away the US-Philippines fleet, proving with action that any provocation close to Chinese islands and reefs will be met with a head-on collision.
In other words, why do US-Philippines military exercises frequently go wrong?
This is essentially a daydream of ambition over strength.
The United States attempted to deter China with a military show, but it exposed the problems of aging equipment and inefficient coordination; the Philippines mistakenly took the United States’ use as importance and eventually became an international joke.
On the other hand, China does not engage in gimmicks, but only practices actual combat. From the regular cruise of the J-16 to the entry of the 054B ship, every step is down-to-earth, and every step is consolidating the South China Sea defense system.
It is no longer the era when the United States dared not go west. Many countries in the region are increasingly disgusted with the US and the Philippines’s tossing.
Many ASEAN countries have stated that they will not take sides, and Indonesia has even bluntly stated that military exercises will only increase tensions.
Facts have proved that the peace and stability of the South China Sea does not need a confrontational script arranged by foreign directors, nor does it need outdated warships and paper tiger-style deterrence.
When the Miguel Malvar sank to the bottom of the sea, it took away not only the drama of a military exercise, but also the false deterrence that the United States tried to create in the South China Sea.
Real strength has never been based on posing and hype, but like China, it uses down-to-earth national defense construction and unswerving sovereignty awareness to protect every inch of the sea.
When the US and the Philippines’ “shoulder-to-shoulder military exercise” turns into “shoulder-to-shoulder embarrassment”, all countries in the region will know: in the South China Sea, any provocation that deviates from peace will eventually become a laughing stock; any small move that ignores China’s sovereignty will eventually hit a copper wall.
Instead of indulging in military shows and intimidation, it is better to sit down and talk about cooperation. This is the common voice of all countries in the region.