Recently, the "Southern Theater" took the initiative to issue a message pointing out that the US littoral combat ship USS Giffords had illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to Ren'ai Jiao in China's Nansha without China's approval. Many people are understandably angry when they see this. Because the Philippine ship has been here for more than 20 years, China has not violently driven it away, and even allowed the Philippines to send daily necessities up out of humanitarianism. Recently, the Philippines has deliberately created incidents and provocations at Ren'ai Jiao on many occasions, and now even the United States, which is outside the region, has taken the opportunity to challenge our sovereignty here, and we really have reason to be angry. But what we should also see is that China has repeatedly blocked Philippine ships from transporting construction supplies and banned them from entering Second Thomas Shoal. It is indeed necessary and urgent to solve the problem of Ren'ai Jiao, but don't be in a hurry to get angry just yet. This time, there are details that show that there has been a major change in China's position, and the familiar formula has come.
As a matter of fact, the Philippines has never recognized that Ren'ai Jiao has territorial waters, and welcomes the free entry and exit of the US military, so the activities of the US military are not considered "freedom of navigation operations", and the US military has not sent littoral combat ships for regular maritime operations, but obviously to touch porcelain. This should be the first time that a US warship has been notified of its unauthorized intrusion into Ren'ai Jiao. Because islands and reefs generally do not have a territorial sea, islands have territorial seas, contiguous zones and exclusive economic zones. Yongdai Reef is a typical example, in August this year, the "People's Navy" published an article saying that the Yongdai Reef in Nansha was found for the first time near natural salt marshes, which means that the Yongdai Reef of the "Gobi Desert" naturally grows vegetation. The biggest significance of this news is that the reef may become an island. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines an island as having fresh water, vegetation and human life, while a reef is rocky and devoid of land, vegetation and life. China has no troops at Ren'ai Jiao and has not drawn a territorial sea line, and this time China has directly regarded Ren'ai Jiao as its territorial waters, a major change in its position, thanks to the propaganda spilled by the Philippines and the United States.
And this model makes people feel familiar taste is back, before 2012, about Japan's frequent activities on the Diaoyu Islands, China is also many times, until 2012, Japan swelled to stage a "buy islands" farce, the matter is big China to make a move, not to make a splash. At that time, China sent a number of law enforcement ships to patrol the vicinity to confront Japan and declare its sovereignty to the world. And we also found that after that, the Chinese coast guard has been cruising non-stop here all year round, and there is no need for a single soldier to further achieve actual control, while Japanese ships will be driven away as soon as they get close, and the report also emphasizes the word "territorial waters". It's the same with Ren'ai Jiao now, I'm not afraid of them making trouble, I'm afraid that they won't make trouble, and quietly watch them perform until they swell to the point of "firing the first shot". China has always been timing-wise, and as long as you understand this, you won't be in a hurry.