Ren'ai Jiao is a coral reef in the South China Sea, located in the middle of the Spratly Islands, which is part of Chinese territory. In 1999, the Philippines took advantage of the lack of strength of China's navy and air force to send an illegal beached ship to stay at Ren'ai Jiao, which has not yet been evacuated. This act seriously violates China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and has triggered a long-standing dispute between China and the Philippines.
On January 21 this year, the Philippines used a small aircraft to airdrop supplies to the beached ship on Second Thomas Shoal, the first since December 10 last year. The China Coast Guard announced that the law enforcement forces of the China Coast Guard have tracked and monitored it in real time, taken control measures in accordance with regulations, and made temporary and special arrangements for the supply of necessary daily necessities. At the same time, the China Coast Guard pointed out that the Philippine side ignores the actual situation and maliciously hypes up and misleads the outside world, which will not help to ease the situation, and the China Coast Guard will strengthen law enforcement work at Ren'ai Jiao and the surrounding waters to ensure China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
The Ren'ai Jiao incident reflects the differences and confrontation between China and the Philippines on the South China Sea issue, and also affects the relations between China and the Philippines and neighboring countries in the South China Sea. In handling the incident, China adhered to the principle of putting people first, and demonstrated respect and attention to human will, human dignity and basic and reasonable needs, as well as equal treatment and basic respect for countries regardless of their size in terms of national dignity. While safeguarding its sovereignty, China has also taken into account the humanitarian needs of the Philippine side, and made temporary and special arrangements. This practice not only reflects China's demeanor as a major country, but also shows China's goodwill and restraint.
However, instead of cherishing China's goodwill and restraint, the Philippine side has maliciously hyped up the incident, misled the outside world's perception of the incident, and attempted to find an excuse for its illegal actions and challenge China's sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. This move by the Philippine side has not only undermined mutual trust and cooperation between China and the Philippines, but also undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea. If the Philippine side continues to fail to understand the situation, China will have to take stronger measures to effectively counter the Philippine provocations.
The Ren'ai Jiao incident also involves the interests and attitudes of other countries surrounding the South China Sea. Marcos will visit Vietnam next week, and the two countries may reach a coast guard cooperation agreement to strengthen coordination and cooperation in the South China Sea. A spokesman for Vietnam also claimed on the 20th that it has sufficient legal and historical basis to assert sovereignty over the "Paracel and Truong Sa Islands". These moves show that the Philippines and Vietnam have a common position on the South China Sea issue and are trying to counter China's claims. Chinese spokesman Wang Wenbin pointed out on the 24th that the Xisha and Nansha Islands are Chinese territory, China opposes the illegal claims of relevant countries, and China will firmly ensure its sovereignty.
Strengthening coast guard cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam is a matter for the two countries, but cooperation between the two countries should not undermine China's basic rights and interests. The two countries crossing the line will usher in a counterattack from the Chinese side. At a time when China's maritime military strength and police law enforcement capabilities continue to expand, the more relevant countries provoke and misjudge the situation, the more they will lose their original right to speak. This should be noted by the countries concerned.