by Xinhua writers Zhu Dongyang, Yang Tianmu
BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming U.S.-Philippine military exercises caps Manila's recent attempts to involve outsiders in regional row. However, a provocation so fear-mongering and untimely as such is likely to boomerang on the initiators.
The 12-day annual Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises will be joined by the U.S. allies of Australia and Japan for the first time in history. Held near the disputed waters of South China Sea, the joint maneuvers were widely seen as Manila's latest showoff of its military alliance with Washington, with the unprecedented participation with the U.S. treaty allies.
Solely in March, the Philippines allowed the United States to have military access to five bases near the disputed waters with China under the renewed defense pact with the United States. It also leased military aircrafts from Japan and obtained fighters and surveillance radars from South Korea. Australia, an irrelevant outsider, also presented unconstructive concern over the South China Sea issue.
Under President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippines has been keen on making waves over the South China Sea issue. Without notice or exchanges beforehand, it sued China over the legality of its territorial claims in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, while rejecting the offer of two-way talks.
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