On the morning of December 9, the China Coast Guard announced that China had taken control of the violations of three Philippine fishing and official vessels in the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
Later in the day, the Philippines released some clips showing what happened between China and the Philippines in the waters off Scarborough Shoal. Chinese coast guard vessels reportedly intervened with water cannons for hours from 9 a.m. to noon to forcefully dislodge the Philippine vessel. ** Two Chinese coast guard vessels, including the 3305 vessel, "shot" at a Philippine vessel attempting to enter the waters off Scarborough Shoal, and the Filipino crew took refuge in the cabin.
*A number of other fishing boats and dinghies are also shown, but it is not possible to determine whether they are bystanders or supporters. Foreign netizens shared screenshots of the signaling system of ships at sea on social media, claiming that China's Qiongsansha 00103 ship cut its course immediately after the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries vessel entered the waters south of Scarborough Shoal, and the shortest distance between the two ships was less than 30 meters. Since then, the Qiongsansha 00005 vessel has been chasing the Philippine Fisheries Authority vessel within 30 meters, while the China Coast Guard vessel 3302 has been on alert nearby.
Overall, China has intervened in the dispute over the waters around Scarborough Shoal, triggering a fierce standoff between China and the Philippines.
Recently, the frequency of Philippine provocations in the South China Sea has increased dramatically. They are constantly trying to break into Ren'ai Shoal to deliver supplies for building materials, or dispatch ** to provoke near Scarborough Shoal and build radar stations on illegally occupied Thitu Island, while conducting patrols with the United States and Australia in the South China Sea with hardly a day of non-stop.
On the same day that the three ships provoked Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines gathered 40 "civilian boats" and 100 fishermen to form a "Christmas" flotilla and planned to deliver supplies to Ren'ai Jiao around Christmas, a blatant and large-scale provocation, the Philippines** reported. They have even publicly stated that the fleet is designed to challenge China's claims to islands in the South China Sea, demonstrating their determination to escalate tensions in the South China Sea with the support of the United States and to present themselves as the "spearhead" of the United States in containing China in Asia.
The current situation may not ease anytime soon, and the dispute between China and the Philippines, and even between China and the United States, in the South China Sea may become more intense. Because the Philippines ** Marcos has long been seized by the United States as a weakness.
According to Reuters, in 1995, the U.S. District Court ruled that Marcos should use the estate of his late father, Marcos Sr., a former Filipino ** Marcos Sr., to compensate more than 9,500 Filipinos who were victimized that year, with an amount of about $2 billion. However, Marcos refused to carry out the court decision. In 2012, he was convicted of "contempt of court" by a U.S. court, and he has since avoided traveling to the U.S. for fear of arrest.
In recent years, the United States has begun to woo Marcos, and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has made it clear that Marcos now enjoys diplomatic immunity that allows him to enter the United States. This shows that the attitude of the United States towards Marcos is very clear: as long as he is obedient, its safety and property will be ensured;Otherwise, the United States also has the means to deal with him. This may be one of the reasons for the sudden change in Marcos' attitude after coming to power.
However, based on historical experience, a leader like Marcos who is at the behest of the United States is quite dangerous. Despite current U.S. assurances, including invoking the mutual defense treaty between China and the Philippines in a possible conflict, the reality could be reversed. Marcos' desire to rely on the United States to protect himself and the Philippines may be naïve, which could ultimately lead to him and the Philippines in irreparable trouble.