WHILE the casualties of war continue to pile up over Gaza and Ukraine, China and the US, after accusing each other of aggressive provocations in the South China Sea, have now raised the tension by conducting rival patrols in the highly disputed waters. The rival patrols are obviously not meant to go after any common enemies or threats to the viability of the global trade route, such as high-sea pirates, terrorists, arms smugglers, or drugs or human traffickers; they are more likely intended to support conflicting territorial claims of the various parties.

The Chinese navy will most likely try to interdict any intrusion into Chinese territory, and the US-Philippine naval group will likewise try to prevent any Chinese intrusion into the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ).