In early April 2024, the fleets of four nations —Australia, Japan, the Philippines, and the United States — held a seafaring training in the South China Sea.
Australia ‘s , Warramunga, Japan ‘s , Akebono, the Philippines ‘ , Antonio Luna, and America’s Mobile worked together in these waters to strengthen their joint abilities and – as they said in a joint , statement – to “uphold the right to freedom of navigation and overflight and respect for maritime rights under international law”.
For Exercise Balikatan 2024, boats from the Philippines and the US operated alongside American and European naval forces a few weeks later, between April 22 and May 8.
For this Balikatan (” make- to- back” ), over 16, 000 forces participated in an area of the South China Sea that is outside the territorial waters of the Philippines. The Coast Guard of the Philippines participated in Exercise Balikatan along with the warships of these countries.
This is important because it is the ships of the Coast Guard that most often , encounter , Taiwanese ships in these global waters, portion of which are disputed between China and the Philippines.
Although China is not named in the standard documents accompanying these exercises, they are undoubtedly intended to be a part of the growing military action the US is engaged in along China’s maritime border.  ,
The Philippine Navy , BRP Lake Caliraya, was simultaneously attacked and sunk during the Balikatan practice by the military arteries from the Philippines and the United States. The Philippine National Oil Company gave the ship, which was made in China, to the military in 2014 as a donation.
The notion that it was the only ship in the Philippines ‘ army that was made in China did not go , unnoticed , within China. Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla- Taborlupa, a director of the military forces of the Philippines,  , said , that this was “purely coincidental”.
The four major countries ‘ defence ministers met in Honolulu, Hawaii to explain the political repercussions of these martial exercises off China’s beach during Balikatan.
Australia’s Richard Marles, Japan’s Kihara Minoru, the Philippines ‘ Gilberto Teodoro, and the United States ‘ Lloyd Austin met for their next meeting to discuss their engagement in the region that they call the Indo- Pacific.
The officials ‘ public relations team began using the name” Squad” to send to these four nations just before the start of this appointment. Although they did not officially announce the establishment of a new alliance in East Asia, this fresh moniker merely serves as a de facto denotation of its life.
From Quad to Squad
In 2007, the leaders of Australia, India, Japan, and the United States met in Manila ( Philippines ) to establish the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ( or Quad ) while their militaries conducted Exercise Malabar in the Philippines Sea.
The Quad did not initially involve the Philippines, whose president at the time—Gloria Arroyo—was trying to , improve , ties between her country and China.
The Quad did not develop because Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was angry with Washington’s growing antagonism towards Beijing. The Quad revived in 2017, when more in , Manila, with a more honest plan to operate against China’s Belt and Road interests in the region, which subsequently- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson , called , “predatory economics”.
The US has been frustrated with India’s pain with the kind of pressure battle the US has been launching against China and Russia over the past two decades. India refused to stop buying discounted Russian energy, which was a pragmatic decision during an election period ( although India’s purchase of Russian energy has  , declined , over time ).
When asked if India may consider being a NATO part, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar , said , that India does not promote the “NATO mentality”.
The US government was irritated by India’s reluctance to engage in the full-fledged New Cold War with China, which led to the decision to leave the Triple and form the Club with the more resolute and determined Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
It is important to observe, however, that in April India , delivered , a batch of hypersonic BrahMos cruise missiles to the Philippines, sold for US$ 375 million and produced by a joint venture between wings manufacturers in India and Russia.
The fine print of the package does not hide the possibility that these weapons might be used in the fresh pressure campaign against China.
Pivot threats
Since its “pivot to Asia”, the US has sought to inspire China. The US trade war that began in 2018 generally fizzled out due to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and its attempt to build the superior production lines to avoid US trade regulations ( for example, when the US tried to prevent China from importing silicon chips, the Chinese , developed , their own production capability ).
The US’s campaign to pressure Taiwan into being at the forefront of its efforts has also failed. The inauguration of Taiwan’s new President Lai Ching- te on May 20 brings to the helm a man who is , not interested , in pushing for Taiwan’s independence, only 6 % of Taiwan’s population , favors , unification with China or independence, with the rest of the population satisfied with the status quo.
The US moved its gunsights to the Philippines because it was unable to create the necessary controversies about Taiwan. Although the Philippines and China disagree on the status of several islands in the waters between them, these disagreements do not suffice to compel either nation to go to war.
In April 2024, former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte , recalled , that when he was president ( 2016- 2022 ),” there was no quarrel. We can return to normalcy. I hope that the ruckus can be stopped because Americans are the ones who are urging the Philippine government to go out and find a conflict and, perhaps, start a war there.
In March, President Marcos , said , that he is” not poking the bear” and does not want to “provoke” China. However, the Squad’s formation two months later indicates that the Philippines has now taken Taiwan as the country’s frontline for US provocations against China.
China’s vice chair of its Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia,  , warned , against “gunboat muscles”. ” Reality has shown”, he said,” that those who make deliberate provocations, stoke tensions, or support one side against another for selfish gains will ultimately only hurt themselves”.
This article was produced by , Globetrotter and is republished with kind permission.
Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor, journalist and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is also an editor of , LeftWord Books  , and the director of , Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
He has written more than 20 books, including , The Darker Nations , and , The Poorer Nations. His latest books are  , Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism , and ( with Noam Chomsky )  , The Withdrawal: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U. S. Power.