Description: Philippine and US air force and naval assets have started joint military drills in the South China Sea, labeling the operation Cope Thunder. According to military officials from both countries, the primary goal of the drills would be to establish an asymmetric warfare capability, achieve strategic deterrence mostly directed at China and enhance combat readiness. Last week’s Chinese military encirclement of Taiwan prompted US allies in the region to enhance preparedness on all military levels, as recent encounters between Philippine’s and Chinese coastguard implied excruciatingly high levels of tensions. Prior to the drills, the US announced that the long-awaited sale of F -16 fighter jets to the Philippines was stalled out but was in final negotiation stages. The US and the Philippines have considerably bolstered strategic ties in the midst of rising Chinese influence and military posturing in the region.
Impact: With the ongoing trade war, and the US official repositioning of its national security priorities in the Indo – Pacific theater, tensions would further flare, as China aims at reasserting its dominance in the disputed South China Sea. The US and China are currently engaged on multiple fronts in a battle for geopolitical prevalence of high stakes, either directly or through proxies or allies. Disputes over the Panama canal, the trade war, TikTok’s sale, and the military buildup in the Indo – Pacific are reshaping the bilateral power dynamics of global implications. China has signaled they didn’t intend on stepping down in the trade war while the Indo – Pacific scrimmage continues. The US had publicly set the region as their number one security priority at the time and aims at reinvigorating alliances amid trade and tariff tensions.