The US should remember three lessons: the Taiwan Strait Agreement | Philippines | US

On June 21, the US Coast Guard gunboat "Stratton" sailed through the Taiwan Strait and made public speculation.

Antony Blinken also said that the US side will abide by the commitment made by President Biden to "four no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no.

It seems that Antony Blinken did not take his words back before the US Coast Guard made such an attack on the face of the US government.

The U.S. Coast Guard, instead of staying close to the U.S. coastline, sailed thousands of miles across the Taiwan Strait, only to leave despondently under China's close watch.

Behind this matter, the United States needs to remember three lessons well.

Lesson 1: Attempting to touch porcelain will lead to detection

The United States Coast Guard, affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security, is a law enforcement agency responsible for monitoring illegal fishing operations, smuggling trade, and searching for crimes on board ships.

In recent days, a deep-sea submersible investigating the wreckage of the Titanic cruise ship in the United States experienced a catastrophic implosion near the sinking site. Previously, the United States Coast Guard was responsible for search and rescue work.

But in recent years, the US Coast Guard has been trying to expand its business scope.

In 2019, the Coast Guard dispatched three ships to the Asia Pacific region to assist the US Navy, and the Stratton was one of them.

Not long after their arrival, these three ships participated in the US military's "freedom of navigation operations" in the South China Sea multiple times. The US side wrote in the report as follows:

When the US Navy appears in disputed areas, the risk is relatively high and it is easy to get caught off guard. However, the US Coast Guard appears to be more "harmless", which provides another tool for the US to appear in disputed areas.

To put it bluntly, the US Coast Guard is relatively weak, making it easier to "hit the nail on the head" and making it easier to sell.

Wang Xiaopeng, an expert on maritime issues and a researcher at the Maritime Strategy Think Tank, summarized to Tan Zhu the routine of American hype in recent years - the combination of a gun barrel and a microphone.

The barrel is a way to "show off muscles" and use military power to enhance the so-called "cutting-edge deterrence" of the United States. The microphone is combined with media hype, such as the Coast Guard, which uses the name of combating maritime terrorism to be more covert, more likely to confuse the public, and more likely to bring about confusion about national information. When the water is muddy, it's better for someone to fish in the muddy water.

Tan Zhu searched for the weapon equipment of the Stratton, which was equipped with a 57mm naval gun. Compared with military ships, it has weak combat capabilities and basically no ability to defend against attacks.

Such a ship is very suitable as a "microphone" for hype.

Tan noted that U.S. Coast Guard vessels had followed U.S. warships through the Taiwan Strait. At present, they do not follow the warships and sail through the Taiwan Strait alone. This is undoubtedly to increase the intensity of speculation.

The Chinese side can clearly see the US side's "little plan".

The Chinese Coast Guard vessel is carrying out the full monitoring and surveillance mission on the Stratton. Military experts say that China's actions reflect "reciprocity" and prevent the US from hyping up.

The US wants to touch the porcelain, but there is no chance.

Lesson 2: If you cover it up, you will be seen through

In fact, in addition to sending ships to carry out missions, the US Coast Guard is also attempting to intervene in the situation around China through various means.

In 2020, the United States proposed a new version of its ocean strategy called the "Maritime Advantage Strategy", which mentioned that the United States should rely on a combination of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard forces to achieve its advantages in the ocean.

Many people know that in recent years, due to the contraction of the shipbuilding industry, the shipbuilding capacity of the United States Navy has significantly declined. In order to make up for its lack of maritime power, the Coast Guard, known as the "Second Navy," has also been included in the consideration of the United States' maritime hegemony.

Compared to the United States Navy, although the absolute strength of the Coast Guard is not as strong, the risks it brings are not small at all.

An important observation perspective is called the "onboard observer agreement" - at present, the United States intends to introduce this model to East Asia, especially Southeast Asian countries.

The Philippines is one of the countries that the United States is focusing on breaking through. Wang Xiaopeng explained this agreement to Tan Zhu. After the agreement was signed, as long as Filipino Coast Guard personnel boarded the US Coast Guard ship, at that moment, the US Coast Guard ship had law enforcement functions similar to that of a Philippine Coast Guard ship. This way, the US could carry out so-called law enforcement in some sensitive waters under the banner of the Philippines.

Simply looking at the content of this agreement, it is all about soft matters such as protecting the marine environment. Its focus is on low sensitivity areas, but what it does is in high sensitivity areas.

Selling dog meat while hanging a sheep's head is an activity that the US Coast Guard is never tired of - a US senator once wrote that since 2010, the operation and maintenance funds of the US Coast Guard have not kept up with the pace of inflation in the United States.

The Coast Guard has been running low on funds for years, but with the China issue in mind, in 2022, the then Commander of the US Coast Guard excitedly announced that the Coast Guard will undergo the largest ship renewal since World War II. He stated that the Coast Guard is currently in a period of rapid expansion and multiple shipbuilding plans will be agreed upon.

The coast guard, which has greatly increased in strength, will focus on "overseas missions".

It is evident that the Coast Guard, which is considered an important part of the US maritime strategy, has become an important means of maintaining its global hegemony.

The Coast Guard is so eager for quick success and instant benefits, and many countries are gradually seeing the true intentions of the United States. Last year, the United States Coast Guard vessels hoping to enter the capital of the Solomon Islands, Honiara, were rejected by the Solomon Islands government.

Last year, the United States held a summit with ASEAN and announced that it would provide $150 million in aid, including private goods - of which $60 million was used to expand maritime cooperation, most of which involved the US Coast Guard, including the deployment of additional Coast Guard personnel and ships to the Asia Pacific region.

Seeing these plans from the US, ASEAN countries naturally will not respond.

The eyes of people from all countries are bright, and what they hope for is sincere cooperation, rather than stirring up trouble under the guise of cooperation.

Lesson Three: If you fabricate concepts, they will be exposed

In the press release released by the China Coast Guard, there is another sentence:

The Chinese maritime police will strengthen patrol law enforcement in waters under Chinese jurisdiction, resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and maritime rights and interests.

In order to maintain its maritime hegemony, the United States has concocted many concepts. Among them is the term "international waters".

US warships sailed through the Taiwan Strait under the pretext that "the Taiwan Strait is 'international waters.

Military expert Zhang Junshe stated that the term "international waters" does not exist in international law. The United States created this term to confuse the public and find an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and threaten their sovereignty and security.

This reminded Tan Zhu of a rhetorical question from Yang Tao, Director General of the US Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - some people always say "based on rules of the international order", what rules is that based on? If it is the United Nations Charter, China has no problem. If it is only a rule formulated by a few countries, like many countries, China finds it difficult to agree.

The so-called rules and customs spoken by the United States are not recognized by most countries in the world.

China enjoys sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Taiwan Strait.

China's navy and maritime police will not run to someone else's doorstep to create friction.

This also indicates that we are gradually taking the initiative in the maritime situation and not being disrupted by external forces.

Wang Xiaopeng stated that we are establishing a graded response mechanism in the Taiwan Strait.

The navy is the first level, and in recent years, a normalized combat readiness patrol model has been established. The maritime police are the second layer, and we are gradually establishing a regular cruising and law enforcement maritime governance model.

China has always been a defender, builder, and contributor to regional and world peace. The Chinese Coast Guard is also an elite force in defending peace and sovereignty in China.

Wang Xiaopeng's words reminded Tan Zhu of an issue that has been highly discussed by everyone in the past few days.

In recent days, the Flight Second Squadron of a certain Air Force Aviation Regiment has been awarded the title of "Model of the Times". The squadron has completed major tasks such as flying around Taiwan.

These pilots are piloting H-6K medium to long-range bombers known as the "God of War". The H-6K has the characteristics of long range, large payload capacity, and strong precision strike capability outside the defense zone.

The aircraft types and sorties used by the People's Liberation Army for island patrols have gone through a process and gradually become the norm today. Now, China's maritime power is no different.

This is a process that takes time, but it will definitely be completed.