South China Sea not arena for flexing muscles

Despite the Japanese side claiming they were making "friendly visits" to Manila after concluding joint military drills with the United States, Australia and the Philippines, the presence of helicopter-carrier destroyer JS Izumo and destroyer JS Samidare in Manila is not a good sign for regional security.

Japan Self-Defense Forces fleet commander Saito Akira minced no words when he pointed at China's "high-pressure" tactics while mentioning the dispute between China and the Philippines over the Ren'ai Reef of China's Nansha Islands. Japan is making no effort to hide its intentions of intervening in the affairs of China and its neighbors.

On Sunday, Japan publicized photographs of the JS Izumo docking at Manila. It is at the US' encouragement that Japan's ambitions have grown in this manner. Ever since former US president Barack Obama adopted his pivot to Asia strategy, the US has been shifting military forces to the Asia-Pacific. The US' military existence in the region is now bigger than that in Europe and it has been strengthening the trilateral military alliance with Japan and the Republic of Korea, thus trying to form an Asian version of NATO in East Asia.

Like its effort of pushing NATO eastward to contain Russia, the US has also been enlarging the trilateral military alliance by inviting Australia and the Philippines to join it. Besides, there is the Quad of the US, Japan, India and Australia and AUKUS of the US, the UK and Australia, which will together prove no less disastrous for the region.

The Asia-Pacific must remain peaceful rather than become a battlefield.