Tensions in the South China Sea: The Philippines and Vietnam have joined forces to confront China in the South China Sea, and the Philippines and Vietnam have recently joined forces to confront China, forming a "front." This development means that the situation in the South China Sea may further escalate, bringing new challenges to regional security. The Philippines' recent illegal incursion into Scarborough Shoal has brought a new twist to the nature of the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard responded strongly and expelled those involved. However, with the Philippines backed by countries such as the United States and Japan, they are likely to continue to take similar actions, further escalating tensions in the South China Sea. Background: The Philippines and Vietnam both claim sovereignty over the South China Sea, while China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. The South China Sea is a resource-rich region with abundant fishing grounds and potential oil and gas reserves. As a result, the struggle for the South China Sea has been protracted. The provocations by the Philippines are mainly aimed at regaining control of Scarborough Shoal.
Scarborough Shoal's geographical location makes the Philippines very eager for the reef. Previously, China and the Philippines held a consultation meeting on the South China Sea issue in Shanghai and reached some consensus, including settling disputes through friendly consultations. However, the Philippines soon tore up these promises, showing that they have no international credit at all. In the event of fruitless exchanges between the two sides, the South China Sea dispute could escalate. Some analysts believe that the Philippines is cooperating with the United States' "China containment strategy" and achieving this goal by creating incidents in the South China Sea. The United States has been trying to strengthen its influence in the Asia-Pacific region and try to prevent China from rising as a regional hegemon. Therefore, the United States supports countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam in confronting China in order to defend its own regional interests. Both the Philippines and Vietnam want to counter China's influence in the South China Sea by joining forces with the United States. China may need to take tougher measures to respond to provocations from the Philippines and Vietnam.
China has long advocated a friendly and negotiated settlement of disputes in the South China Sea, but in the face of the Philippines' treachery and Vietnam's provocative behavior, China may be forced to take a tougher stance to defend its sovereignty and interests. The Chinese coast guard has responded strongly to the Philippine intrusion and expelled those involved from the South China Sea. Looking ahead, the tension in the South China Sea will bring new challenges to regional security. The Philippines and Vietnam joining forces against China could spark more disputes and conflicts. As a regional power, China needs to remain calm and restrained, while taking the necessary steps to safeguard its interests. China can also work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea by strengthening cooperation with other maritime neighbors. In short, the Philippines and Vietnam joining forces to confront China will further escalate tensions in the South China Sea. All parties in the region need to exercise restraint, resolve disputes through friendly consultations, and work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. Sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat.
As a long-standing hot spot, the South China Sea issue has always touched the nerves of the international community. In recent years, Marcos Marcos of the Philippines has tried to "politicize" the South China Sea issue in an effort to gain more support and build a "tough image" of himself by cooperating with the United States. The United States, on the other hand, takes the "strategy of containing China" as the core and competes with China for influence and dominance in ASEAN. However, China's combined strength and economic influence over Southeast Asian countries have led the vast majority of ASEAN countries to choose peaceful dialogue to resolve disputes. However, if a few countries choose to confront China, or even trigger a "first-class incident", it will have an impact on China's relations with ASEAN, prompting some countries to hope for "foreign interference" to offset China's influence in the region. The Philippines has tried to change the collective position of ASEAN countries on the South China Sea issue by signing an agreement with Vietnam, but Vietnam will not follow the Philippines' example, but will work with multiple regional partners on all fronts to mitigate the impact of the South China Sea dispute.
The South China Sea issue is a complex and sensitive regional contradiction that has a bearing on the territorial sovereignty, maritime resource development, and geopolitical interests of various countries. However, let's look at the question from a different angle: How important is the South China Sea dispute? Why has it been in the international spotlight? What kind of interests are hidden behind this? First, the South China Sea issue involves abundant marine resources. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the South China Sea is rich in oil, natural gas, fishery resources and rare metals, and has huge economic potential. Countries want to get a piece of the blue pie to meet their energy needs and economic development. However, the South China Sea dispute has made it extremely difficult to exploit these resources, and the entanglement of interests of all parties has turned cooperation into competition, and the risk of conflict has increased. Second, the South China Sea issue affects China's territorial sovereignty.
According to the principles of international law, islands have corresponding exclusive economic zones and territorial waters, while the South China Sea has a large number of islands and reefs, which are widely distributed, involving territorial sovereignty disputes between multiple countries. All parties hope to fight for their legitimate rights and interests through dispute resolution mechanisms, and this is one of the core reasons why the South China Sea issue has not been effectively resolved. Finally, the South China Sea issue involves the reconstruction of geopolitics and the international order. For China, the South China Sea is part of its maritime strategy and a key area for it. China hopes to safeguard its core interests and regional security and stability through the resolution of the South China Sea issue. For the United States, the South China Sea is an important part of its "pivot to Asia" strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States has tried to counterbalance China's influence in the region through cooperation with ASEAN countries. This protracted game has further complicated the South China Sea issue and put ASEAN countries in a dilemma. On the South China Sea issue, peaceful dialogue is the only correct way to resolve disputes.
Based on the principles of mutual respect and consensus, all parties should seek consensus and resolve differences through a dispute resolution mechanism based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Only through cooperation can a win-win situation be achieved, making the South China Sea a place of peace and stability in the region, rather than the focus of international affairs. In 2016, Vietnam and China signed a memorandum of cooperation with the coast guard and conducted joint patrols. The move shows Vietnam's desire to maintain stability in the South China Sea by cooperating with China. However, the Philippines' actions in the South China Sea have been miscalculated. Marcos mistakenly thought that the United States would side with them and support them in stirring up trouble in the South China Sea. However, this is not the case. Although the United States hopes that the Philippines will provoke trouble in the South China Sea, it has not really "come out" for the Philippines and confronted China. On the one hand, this is because the balance of power between China and the United States has changed qualitatively, making the United States unwilling to enter into conflict with China.
On the other hand, the United States is in its first year, and Biden does not want the South China Sea dispute to escalate and disrupt their strategy to stabilize Sino-US relations. Thus, the Philippines' miscalculation led to their defeat in the South China Sea. They thought the United States would support their actions, but in reality they found themselves alone. Overall, Vietnam's move to sign a memorandum of cooperation with China on the coast guard shows that it wants to maintain stability in the South China Sea region by working with China. The Philippines' miscalculation has exposed its isolation in the South China Sea.