The answer is Yes. Yes, the Philippines should worry (“Should the Philippines worry about Chinese carrier group crossing first island chain?,” South China Morning Post, June 14, 2025). Not worrying about what China is doing to you is a form of suicide.
So the Philippines should, as observers say, notice what China is doing. And should worry about it. But the Philippines should not escalate anything or contribute to escalation, observers also say.
Be concerned about China, but also be concerned about maintaining the ethereal diplomatic quality of “delicate balance.” China is fragile, even when in bullying mode. It’s got to be treated with kid gloves. China is very sensitive. It has very tender sensibilities. Totalitarian wackos often do. We must never forget that. Vigilance: yes. Escalation: no.
The crossing of a US-designated island chain in the Western Pacific by a Chinese carrier group marks an increase in Beijing’s “operational tempo” that the Philippines should pay heed to, observers say.
They warn, however, that a “delicate balance” should still be maintained to avoid any escalation amid calls for vigilance.
Regional governments such as Japan and Taiwan have advised increased caution, and a former official in the Joe Biden administration has suggested formalising the so-called Squad bloc of nations meant to counter Chinese assertiveness.
Well, which is it? Cautious avoidance of escalation, or formalize the defense alliance?
China always finds any firming up of its targets’ defense capabilities to be annoying and destabilizing. Chinese representatives have talked about how destabilizing it is for the Philippines to rely on the United States for any enhancement of its ability to defend itself from China’s continuous incursions in the South China Sea. It is incautious to annoy China. It is indelicate.
Earlier this week, the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy dispatched two aircraft carriers to conduct operations beyond the “first island chain”. This series of land masses, part of a US containment strategy to deter Chinese military presence, stretches from Japan’s Okinawa to Taiwan and the Philippines.
The carriers were deployed to test capabilities in “far seas defence”, PLA Navy spokesman Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng confirmed on Tuesday as the Chinese continued to share photos online of aircraft carriers Liaoning and Shandong.
Japan spotted the Liaoning and the Shandong “conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time” and reported that the Liaoning, an aircraft carrier, had crossed into the “ ‘second island chain,’ an area east of the first chain,” the first time a Chinese carrier had done so.
It’s all okay though, Senior Captain Wang stressed. The deployments were in accordance with China’s annual plan; moreover, they complied with “relevant international laws and practices” and were “not directed against any specific country or target.”
On Wednesday, Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo said China’s operations in the region showed it was “sending a political message” while laying bare its expansionist agenda.
Expansionist agenda? It was just a training exercise!! Or perhaps a sightseeing excursion. Not directed against anybody. Don’t escalate.
