South China Sea Photo: VCG

US forces will participate in Exercise Pacific Steller 2025,MKsports a multi-large deck event (MLDE) hosted by the French Navy in the Philippine Sea beginning February 8, according to the website of Commander of the US Pacific Fleet. 

A Chinese expert noted that the military exercise in the Philippine Sea, led by France, had been scheduled beforehand. It on one hand suggests that its maritime security strategy places significant emphasis on the safety of shipping routes in the Asia Pacific and the South China Sea, while on the other aligns with the Philippines' efforts to expand foreign military presence in the region, which could become a destabilizing factor for regional peace and stability, said the expert.

The Carl Vinson carrier strike group will participate in the exercise with a French carrier strike group led by FS Charles De Gaulle, as well as JS Kaga (a Japanese helicopter destroyer undergoing conversion into an aircraft carrier), the US media Newsweek reported on Friday. 

It's worth noting that the choice of the Philippine Sea, rather than the South China Sea, indicates that France has taken China's concerns into account and appears to be exercising restraint to avoid unnecessary tensions, Ding Duo, director of the Research Center for International and Regional Studies at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"France's current maritime security strategy places significant emphasis on the safety of shipping route in Asia Pacific and the South China Sea," Ding said, noting that the move aligns with the Philippines' efforts to expand foreign military presence in the region, which however could become a destabilizing factor for regional peace and stability.

"The Philippines is deliberately linking its military security cooperation with external countries to the South China Sea related issues. By doing so, it aims to amplify its maritime provocation by leveraging external military partnerships to apply pressure on China," Ding said.

Canada and the Philippines are reportedly in the final stages of negotiating a key defense pact to facilitate larger military drills. 

The Philippines' recent push to sign a defense and security agreement with Canada aligns with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's foreign policy approach, Ding noted. 

"The previous US administration advocated for closer coordination among US allies and partners, and the Philippines has actively responded by expanding its network of defense partnerships with various countries," Ding said. 

In the face of provocations, China should maintain political resolve to safeguard national security and steadily strengthen its capacity for rights protection by improving coordination mechanisms and reinforcing comprehensive rights protection measures in the South China Sea, the expert added.

On Wednesday, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command conducted routine patrols in the South China Sea, according to Senior Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command. 

Tian said that the Philippines rallied external countries and organized a so-called joint patrol, creating instability in the South China Sea, providing endorsement for its illegal claims in the region, and eroding China's legitimate maritime rights and interests. The troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command remain on high alert, resolutely defending national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday that the series of national strategic and foreign policies implemented under previous Biden administration will inevitably undergo adjustments under Trump's "America First' approach," Song said. 

The idea of Making America Great Again will lead to modifications in these policies, which will take time to be revised and reinforced as part of a broader strategic adjustment, Song noted. 

"China should maintain political resolve to safeguard national security," Chen said, noting that it should also actively engage in diplomatic dialogue with neighboring countries and ASEAN to foster regional peace and stability.