Manila sleepwalking into Washington's plans poses a threat to regional peace and stability

Although Manila claims the three-day joint maritime and air patrols of the Philippine and US forces in the South China Sea aim to "enhance regional security" and "foster a seamless partnership with the United States in safeguarding our shared interests", the contradiction between the two objectives should be evident to all.

The joint patrols that finished on Thursday were part of a series of military cooperation moves by the Philippines and the United States since Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office as Philippine president in June last year. While he pretends his administration is engaged in balanced diplomacy, in actuality it adopts a pro-US stance, with the aim of the Philippines being an ass in a lion's skin so as to gain the upper hand in its long-festering maritime disputes with China.

That's a miscalculation, as it has never been part of Washington's agenda to help settle the maritime disputes between China and the Philippines, or any other claimant countries in the region. Washington simply wants to protract and exploit the disputes so that it can sow the seeds of discord between China and its neighbors and also portray China as a bully.