Recently, China discovered that Philippine fishing vessels and Aquatic Resources Bureau official vessels have illegally intruded into the waters near Scarborough Shoal. The Chinese side has taken effective control measures, including the use of water cannons to intercept them. However, the Philippine side interpreted the footage of the scene it released as a "victim". Less than 24 hours later, Philippine Coast Guard vessels and official vessels again attempted to illegally approach and disrupt order near Second Thomas Shoal.
Despite China's control in accordance with the law, a Philippine ship ignored warnings and collided with the Chinese coast guard vessel in a dangerous manner, resulting in a scrape. These provocations are believed to be part of the elaborate "Operation Porcelain" and its so-called "Operation Christmas" by the Philippine side. At 9 a.m. on December 9, Chinese coast guard vessels spotted the illegal intrusion of three Philippine fishing vessels and the official vessel of the Aquatic Resources Bureau in the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
At 6 a.m. on December 10, two Philippine coast guard vessels, one official ship and one supply ship attempted to approach the broken ship beached at Ren'ai Jiao in an attempt to resupply construction supplies. The Chinese side controlled the situation in accordance with the law, but a Philippine ship ignored the warning and rammed the Chinese coast guard ship in a dangerous manner, resulting in a scraping incident.
In response to these incidents, the Philippines has assembled 40 volunteers to form a "Christmas fleet" of 40 small fishing boats, several coast guard vessels and official vessels, in an attempt to create more chaos in the South China Sea. China made a solemn statement on this, reiterating its position on indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea, calling on the Philippines to stop provocations, emphasizing historical latitude and international legitimacy, and calling on the Philippines to resolve the issue peacefully. However, the Philippines has not heeded this call.
According to relevant regulations, China has adopted a more moderate approach of water cannon dispersal in the waters near Scarborough Shoal. The range of the water cannon on the Chinese coast guard ship is only 105 meters, and the pressure is about 12 megapascals, even if it is aimed directly at the ship, will not damage the hull, but will just let the cabin into some seawater. The Philippine side later released footage from the scene, showing that the Chinese coast guard raised the angle of the water cannon to form a water curtain, and did not directly impact, maintaining professionalism and restraint. The Philippines alleges that the water cannons disabling the vessel's navigation and communications equipment.
Less than 24 hours later, the Philippines carried out another provocation at Second Thomas Shoal, and when the Chinese side intercepted and controlled it, the Philippines deliberately used a dangerous way to collide, which was obviously a deliberate provocation. In any case, however, the Philippines' illegal and dangerous provocations have completely changed the situation in the South China Sea, and China has made more than 100 representations, but the Philippines has not changed, but has intensified. In the future, China has many other measures, such as seizing people and ships, and directly ramming or destroying ships.
However, China still retains some leeway. In the aftermath of the Scarborough Shoal conflict, the Philippines** interviewed a number of fishermen fishing nearby. They said they were still allowed to fish in the waters around Scarborough Shoal, but they were not allowed to cross the border, they said. Obviously, China has given full consideration to the livelihood of Filipino fishermen and has not combined Philippine provocations with normal production operations, which is also a manifestation of good-neighborliness and friendship.
In fact, the previous professional restraint of evictions from the Philippines rather than tough enforcement actions was motivated by the consideration of resolving the issue within the ASEAN framework. Recently, however, the Philippines has taken a reckless step and resorted to more dangerous provocations, which has seriously violated the spirit of the Declaration on Action in the South China Sea. At present, ASEAN countries have clearly realized that the Philippines will not hesitate to destabilize the entire South China Sea region for the sake of US geopolitical expansion.
Therefore, even if China takes a tougher crackdown, countries will fully understand and avoid miscalculations. The Philippines is currently a key pawn in the US Asia-Pacific strategy. When China is unable to dissuade the Philippines with even maximum restraint, it is more in the overall interest of the South China Sea region to take resolute action against the Philippines. I believe that the international community will also understand and support it. China Coast Guard Controls Philippine Fishing Boats Invading Scarborough Shoal Four Philippine vessels have once again entered Ren'ai Jiao without authorization
How to view the Philippine provocation at Second Thomas Shoal