Recently, the "Southern Theater of Operations" issued a statement saying that the US coastal combat ship "Giffords" entered the waters near China's Nansha Renaijiao Island without authorization and sent naval forces to conduct surveillance and surveillance. This makes many people angry, and it is understandable. Since the Philippine beached boats have been here for more than 20 years, China has not expelled them by force, but has also asked Filipinos to bring their daily necessities on board.
The Filipinos have provoked disputes at Second Thomas Shoal several times, and now the United States has taken the opportunity to challenge our territory, and we are angry enough. However, it should also be noted that China has on several occasions prevented Philippine ships from transporting construction materials and prevented them from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, which side has de facto control over this. This is something we have to do, and we have to do it. This time, we can see that China's attitude has changed dramatically, and it is a very similar formula.
The Filipinos have never recognized this sea, and even allowed Americans to enter and exit freely, and the Americans' behavior here is not "freedom of navigation", and more importantly, this Marine Corps is not used to participate in formal naval battles, which is clearly trying to take advantage of us. The U.S. Navy has never informed them of its patrols, and this is the first time they have known of a U.S. ship intruding here. Generally speaking, islands do not have territorial waters, and only islands can have their own territory.
In an article published by the People's Navy in August, "Semi-natural saline-alkali marshes," a natural saline-alkali swamp was discovered for the first time in the Yongji Reef area of Nansha, indicating that there will be natural plants on the Yongji Reef, which is known as the "Gobi Desert on the Sea." On top of that, the reef has the potential to become an island. In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an island is defined as having fresh water, vegetation and suitable for human habitationReefs, on the other hand, mostly refer to rocks, with no land, no plants, and no living things. China does not have troops stationed here, not even a territorial sea line, but this time, it has made it its own territory, thanks to the Philippines and the United States.
Until 2012, Japan made frequent moves on the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, and China also expressed opposition several times, until 2012, when Japan made an inch of progress and made a big drama of "buying the islands", which made things out of control. At the time of that incident, China sent a large number of law enforcement vessels to patrol the waters, engaged in a fierce confrontation with Japan, and declared China's territorial integrity. And we also note that since then, Chinese marines have been patrolling here without the need to use any force to control it, and Japanese ships are expelled as soon as they get close, and the word "territorial waters" is deliberately emphasized.
The same is true of Ren'ai Reef today, you are not worried that you will **, but that you will be quietly waiting for you to "fire the first shot". Chinese always have to look at the time when doing things, and knowing this truth, they will not be so nervous and angry.