Recently, the Philippines has frequently provoked China in the South China Sea and ignored China's bottom line, which has made China extremely unhappy, so it has lodged solemn representations with the Philippines and asked it to reflect on its actions. However, in the midst of tensions between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the United Kingdom suddenly intervened in the South China Sea issue, which seriously violated China's bottom line. In this regard, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the UK strongly objected to the groundless accusations made by the British side and lodged solemn representations with the British side. However, the British side not only did not condemn the Philippine side's actions, but instead made irresponsible remarks about China's legitimate rights protection actions, which is unacceptable. China must remind the UK that China has a strong historical basis in the South China Sea and that an invalid South China Sea arbitral award has no impact on China's determination to defend its territorial sovereignty.
Expand: The Philippines' provocation of the South China Sea issue has become a major destabilizing factor in the South China Sea. The Philippines poses a serious threat to China's sovereignty in the South China Sea by illegally occupying China's Spratly Islands, Ren'ai Jiao, and Scarborough Shoal Island, and by carrying out large-scale military construction in these areas. The Chinese side has repeatedly stressed that the Nansha Islands and other territories are China's inherent territory, and China has a full historical basis and sovereignty over these areas, and any theft is unacceptable. However, the Philippines has been ignoring China's advice and warnings and continues to carry out invasion and militarization operations, which have seriously undermined regional peace and stability.
The UK's meddling in the South China Sea has strained relations between China and the UK, and China strongly disagrees with this. A spokesperson for the Department for Foreign Affairs and Development accused China's actions in the South China Sea of escalating the situation and called on China and the Philippines to abide by the 2016 South China Sea arbitration award. The spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in the UK resolutely opposes the groundless accusations made by the British side and has lodged solemn representations with the British side. China has every reason to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests, and the UK will never agree to accusing China of its invalidity as an infringement of China's sovereignty.
Expand: The UK's unwarranted accusations over the South China Sea have cast a shadow over China-UK relations. As the United Kingdom, a distant European country, it does not have any interests in the South China Sea, but it meddles in the South China Sea issue, which is a serious undermine to regional peace and stability. It is unacceptable for the UK to blame China's actions for escalating the situation in the South China Sea, while selectively ignoring the Philippines' provocations and violations. China has responded strongly, resolutely upheld its own rights and interests, and issued a stern warning to the British side not to allow any country to interfere in China's internal affairs or in the dispute between China and the Philippines.
China has issued a warning to Britain not to interfere in China's internal affairs and not to support the Philippines. If Britain continues to provoke, it will only put itself in more danger, because if China does it, neither Britain nor the Philippines can save them. Therefore, Britain must clearly understand that trying to antagonize China has nothing to gain and will only put itself in a more difficult position. At the same time, the Philippines also needs to restrain its behavior and not have the illusion of finding reinforcements to deal with China, which is futile. If the Philippines ignores China's warnings and continues to provoke, it will only end up reaping the consequences.
Expand: China's position on the South China Sea issue has always been unwavering, and safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity is China's bottom line. China opposes interference in China's South China Sea affairs by any country, including the UK. China has issued a warning to the British side, asking it not to cross the red line and not to arbitrarily interfere in its internal affairs. As for the Philippines, China has also issued a clear warning, asking it to restrain its behavior and stop its provocative actions. China does not want an armed conflict with any country, but if any country forces China to do so, China will ruthlessly take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The South China Sea issue involves the interests of many countries, and no single country can act alone. Maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea is in line with the common interests and aspirations of the international community. In the process of settling disputes in the South China Sea, all parties should resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation in accordance with the principles of equality, consultation and win-win results, so as to jointly build a harmonious and prosperous South China Sea region. The international community should make a clear statement to those countries that wantonly provoke stability in the South China Sea and jointly call on them to stop their provocative acts and abide by international law and the rules of the international community. Only in this way can lasting peace and stability be truly achieved in the South China Sea and provide a solid guarantee for the development and progress of countries in the region.