On December 9, three Philippine ships tried to intrude into the waters off China's Scarborough Shoal. By the time the Philippine ships departed, China had tracked their whereabouts. The Chinese Coast Guard has installed a floating net at the entrance to the lagoon at Scarborough Shoal, blocking the entrance to Scarborough Shoal. When the Philippine vessel arrived in the waters off Scarborough Shoal, the Chinese vessel Qiongsansha 00103 cut less than 30 meters away from the bow of the Philippine Fisheries Bureau, after which the Qiongsansha 00005 vessel remained within 30 meters of the Philippine vessel and pursued the Philippine vessel closely. Chinese Coast Guard ships 3305 and 3302 simultaneously bombarded Philippine vessels with water cannons. The Philippines** claimed that the water cannons of Chinese coast guard ships were used at least eight times and that the water cannons caused serious damage to Philippine communications and navigation equipment. The Philippines has also accused China of using directional sound waves** (LRAD) on its vessels, resulting in the temporary incapacitation of some Filipino crews.
Less than 24 hours later, Philippine ships again provoked Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea. Two Philippine coast guard vessels, one official vessel and one supply vessel attempted to board the Philippine beach** at Second Thomas Shoal. However, our coast guard vessels discovered this attempt. Ignoring China's repeated solemn warnings, the No. 1 boat of the Philippines "Yunaza May" violated the "International Rules for Avoiding Collisions at Sea" and dangerously rammed China's Haijing 21556 boat, which was on normal law enforcement navigation. The Chinese coast guard immediately counterattacked, and water cannons bombarded the Philippine boats. The engine of the Philippine ship Kalayaan was badly damaged and nearly capsized.
In the past, China has generally taken measures such as warning and driving away foreign vessels that intrude into waters such as Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao. But the Philippines seems to have ignored it and continued to provoke. In this tense situation, China has taken measures such as verbal warnings, sending ships to intercept them, and water cannon attacks to control Philippine ships on the spot.
The Philippines' provocative behavior in the South China Sea is a cause for concern, and there may be US influence behind it. The United States may hope to politicize the South China Sea issue by realizing its so-called "Asian NATO" strategy through the conflict between China and the Philippines. China needs to be cautious because ASEAN is an important partner of China, and the two are complementary in terms of technology and market. China needs to maintain its relationship with ASEAN, and the Philippines' conflicting behavior could provide the United States with a pretext to contain China. China's control over the South China Sea is constantly increasing, and the Philippines' actions in the South China Sea do not pose a threat to China's substantive interests, but on the contrary, they are an unnecessary consumption of US resources.
Against the backdrop of the current Sino-US confrontation and the global economic depression, China needs to remain calm and avoid falling into the trap set by the US. At this juncture, it is more beneficial for China to deal with the situation in the South China Sea rationally. Conflict is not the best way to solve problems, and through dialogue and consultation, China can better safeguard its own interests and avoid being held hostage to U.S. strategic objectives.