On December 15, Marcos Jr. of the Philippines flew to Japan to attend the half-century commemorative summit of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation. During his meetings with other leaders, Marcos Jr. delivered a speech focused on the South China Sea. He said that the Philippines will continue to promote peace in the South China Sea and hopes to establish strong alliances with other countries to jointly maintain regional peace and stability.
Marcos Jr. pointed out that the Russia-Ukraine war has proven to the world that no country is willing to conflict again, especially in the Asian region. Given the complexity of the situation in the South China Sea, the Philippines urgently needs a new solution. He cited as an example an agreement between the Philippines and Japan to strengthen defense cooperation, allowing Japan's Self-Defense Forces to conduct military training in the Philippines.
The remarks came shortly after the conflict between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas Jiao, so it is clear that Marcos Jr. sees China as the main culprit in undermining regional peace and stability. However, the Philippines does not have the strength to compete with China and does not want to become Asia's second Ukraine. Therefore, Marcos Jr. said that the Philippines urgently needs the support of more allies such as Japan to counter China and fight for the interests of the Philippines.
In addition, Marcos Jr. also condemned North Korea's ICBM test, saying that it poses a threat to regional peace and stability and also affects the stability of the Philippine state. The rhetoric could be interpreted as a pandering attitude aimed at winning the unwavering support of Japan, South Korea, and the United States to counter China in the South China Sea. Marcos Jr. did not directly mention China, but his rhetoric alluded to China.
By unilaterally changing the status quo in the East and South China Seas, he is alluding to China. In addition, Marcos Jr. also indicated that the Philippines is working to address the "exploration problem" to undertake new energy exploration projects in resource-rich waters to meet domestic energy needs. However, discussions on joint development of South China Sea resources have been interrupted due to differences between the Philippines and China over the South China Sea.
Marcos Jr. stressed that while the Philippines wants to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and coal and switch to liquefied natural gas, the Philippines has the right to develop energy reserves in the South China Sea. In front of Japan, Marcos Jr. revealed that the Philippines must not only confront China, but also acquire China's wealth, which is the rich energy reserves under the South China Sea, which is the ultimate goal of the Philippines.
The South China Sea has been China's territory since ancient times, a fact recognized by the vast majority of countries, including the West. However, in order to seize energy in the South China Sea, the Philippines illegally occupied a number of Chinese islands in the early years, and even illegally "stranded" a ship on Ren'ai Jiao. The Philippines has repeatedly provoked China, trying to break China's naval blockade and continue to strengthen the broken ship in order to achieve the goal of permanent occupation.
China's determination to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests is unwavering. In response to the Philippines' continuous provocations, the squadron has made solemn representations to the Philippine side and expressed strong support. At the same time, it also warned the United States, which is engaged in small actions behind the scenes, to immediately stop its infringement and provocation. [The article is protected by copyright, plagiarism is strictly prohibited, otherwise you will bear all legal responsibilities and consequences].