China Probes US Response to Allies in the South China Sea

According to experts, the Chinese government may use the tense situation in the East Sea to gauge the US response to Washington's allies.

One of the recent "collisions" between Chinese and Philippine ships in the East Sea. (Source: Reuters)

Tensions in the South China Sea have increased following several confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the vital waterway in recent months.

According to experts, the Chinese government may use the tense situation in the East Sea to assess the US's reaction to Washington's allies when this government increases military activities on this route which is very important to the global economy.

June Teufel Dreyer, an expert on US-China relations and a professor of political science at the University of Miami, noted that the Chinese government has long sought to pressure the Philippines. Speaking to The Epoch Times on June 22, Dreyer shared: "China has been pressuring and pushing the Philippines for a long time."

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte pursued a pro-China policy and changed his stance on the US quite a few times, leading to a deterioration in relations between the Philippines and the US. But that changed in 2022 when Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office as President.

While Mr. Marcos wants to change his predecessor's policies, Ms. Teufel Dreyer warns that he has few resources to do so. "Mr. Marcos really wants to. But he has very few means to do it. And he is not sure how much he can trust the United States, because the United States is involved, although not officially involved, in the conflict in Ukraine as well as another Israeli war against Hamas," Ms. Teufel Dreyer said.

Meanwhile, Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean of International Studies and Professor of China Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, described China’s strategy as “two-pronged.” On the one hand, Beijing exerts pressure “through military exercises abroad.” On the other hand, Beijing seeks to exert pressure through “influence operations” within other countries.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/trung-quoc-tham-do-phan-ung-cua-my-voi-cac-dong-minh-o-bien-dong-276970.html