The situation in the South China Sea has been surprisingly volatile lately, and it is incomprehensible that the Philippines is the most striking of the role. While the South China Sea region is generally relatively stable, there have been occasional turbulences, and the most unexpected provocateur has been the Philippines, a small country in the region. During the Duterte era, the Philippines had good relations with China, which provided many opportunities for development. However, after Marcos Jr. came to power, he chose the best strategy and frequently cooperated with the United States, which led to the escalation of tensions in the South China Sea. As a small country, the Philippines should have sought development opportunities in a peaceful environment, but it did not hesitate to play a provocative role, and seemed to have become a pawn and cannon fodder.
In the recent incident, Philippine vessels illegally trespassed into the waters adjacent to China's Scarborough Shoal, and the Chinese coast guard took decisive measures to control water cannons. According to Xinhua news agency, on December 9, three Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official vessels ignored repeated warnings from Chinese coast guard vessels and forcibly intruded into waters near China's Scarborough Shoal. In order to safeguard sovereignty and security, the China Coast Guard has taken resolute control measures and effectively controlled the situation. Afterwards, the Philippine side made a statement about the situation at that time, and it seemed that it was a little aggrieved. The Philippines claimed that the Chinese Coast Guard ship was 14 to 1At 9 nautical miles, a drastic tactic was suddenly taken and the water cannon was fired directly at the Philippine ship.
The Philippine side complained that the Chinese coast guard ship used water cannons to attack, which directly caused serious damage to the communication and navigation equipment of the Philippine fishery administration vessel "Datu Tamblot", which in turn affected the safe navigation of Philippine vessels. The Philippines has raised a claim that the use of water cannons by means of water cannons on Chinese coast guard vessels has caused substantial damage to Philippine vessels. In fact, the Chinese coast guard has exercised maximum restraint in defending its sovereign rights and interests over Scarborough Shoal, repeatedly warning Philippine vessels that are violating the law, and urging the Philippines not to touch China's bottom line.
However, the Philippines apparently lacks understanding of China's goodwill and insists on unilateral action. The Chinese Coast Guard's use of control measures and the use of water cannons to drive away the vessel was seen as a reasonable response. The Philippines has no right to criticize China's lawful actions to safeguard its own rights and interests. In this incident, the Philippine vessel took the lead in provoking the incident, and the Chinese coast guard ship took measures to protect its rights and interests, so the Philippines has no right to criticize China's legitimate behavior. The Philippines has complained about the incapacitation of Filipino crews by Chinese fishing vessels using long-range directional acoustic dispersion devices, but this is also due to the provocative actions taken by Philippine vessels in advance.
After the provocative actions at Scarborough Shoal failed to achieve its goal, the Philippine ship turned to Ren'ai Jiao to continue to stir up trouble, directly colliding with the Chinese coast guard vessel. The Philippine provocation at Scarborough Shoal was unsuccessful and paid the price. However, the Philippines has not learned its lesson and continues to stir up trouble at Ren'ai Jiao in China. According to Xinhua News Agency, on December 10, two Philippine coast guard ships, one official ship and one supply ship tried to illegally "beach" on Ren'ai Jiao, carrying construction supplies. In the face of the Philippine provocation, China has taken decisive measures to deal with it, taking control of Philippine vessels.
According to the report, when the Chinese coast guard ship took control measures against the Philippine vessel, the Philippines ** actually crashed directly into the Chinese coast guard ship. According to the official report of the China Coast Guard, the Philippine vessel took dangerous actions to ram the Chinese coast guard ship after China imposed control measures. According to the information released by the China Coast Guard, the Philippine "Yunaza May" No. 1 boat ignored many solemn warnings, violated the "International Maritime Collision Avoidance Regulations", took an unprofessional and dangerous way to make a sudden turn, and deliberately rammed the Chinese Coast Guard 21556 boat on normal law enforcement navigation, resulting in a scrape. Judging from the briefings, the responsibility for the collision lies entirely with the Philippine side.
The Philippines has been stirring up trouble at Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao for two consecutive days, creating a dangerous situation, and the intensity of the provocation has gradually escalated. The Philippines has been conducting provocative acts for two days in a row at Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Jiao, which is relatively rare in the South China Sea. This situation shows that the Philippines has significantly stepped up its provocations in the South China Sea under the influence of foreign forces. The Philippines seems to be trying to create some disturbances in the South China Sea with the help of external support in order to gain external support for illegal benefits. The Philippines' successive provocative actions have not only brought great annoyance to the South China Sea region, but also highlighted its irresponsible behavior in international affairs.
At this sensitive moment, China has declared its firm position on the South China Sea issue and made six important points clear. In the face of the Philippines' continuous efforts to create incidents in the South China Sea and undermine regional peace and stability, China has resolutely shown its cards and clarified six clear views. First, China insists on its indisputable sovereignty over Nanhai Zhudao and its surrounding waters, including Dongsha Islands, Xisha Islands, Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands, and exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the relevant waters. Second, China firmly opposes the so-called South China Sea arbitration, which it considers to be a serious violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and general international law, and is illegal. Third, China's deployment of defense facilities, scientific research activities, and coast guard patrols on the islands in the South China Sea are all lawful, and other countries have no right to raise objections.
Fourth, China stressed that Ren'ai Jiao is part of the Spratly Islands, accused the Philippines of illegal detention and demanded its immediate withdrawal. Fifth, China's fishing moratoriums and other regimes are designed to protect living marine resources in waters under its jurisdiction in the South China Sea, and other countries, such as the Philippines, have no right to blame China. Sixth, China warns the Philippines of its recent frequent illegal landings of Chinese drones on islands and reefs, as well as its provocative actions at Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao, in serious violation of the spirit of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. By clarifying these six points, China is actually showing the Philippines that it has done its best to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
China has made it clear to the Philippines that it will face serious consequences if it continues to provoke. With regard to the control measures at Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Shoal, China has made clear six points of view, in fact, to send a message to the Philippines: China has done its best to maintain peace in the South China Sea, and the Philippines will suffer if it fails to understand China's goodwill. Eating the bitter fruit of oneself will be an inevitable consequence for the Philippines, because China has only failed to take action for the time being, and if it does, the consequences will be unimaginable. China has been working for peace and stability in the South China Sea, and the world is clearly aware of this, and the Philippines' provocation is clearly unwise.