Ren'ai Jiao, a T-shaped atoll in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea, has always been an important haven and fishing ground for Chinese fishermen. However, since 1999, a Philippine landing ship named "Sierra Madre" has occupied the waters of Ren'ai Jiao for a long time and has not thought of leaving.
Incredibly, Filipino Navy soldiers have also lived together on Second Thomas Shoal for more than two decades. Although the "Sierra Madre" had the possibility of simple repairs and escapes in the first two years of its grounding, after more than 20 years of baptism of marine climate, the "Sierra Madre" has now been reduced to a pile of scrap copper and rotten iron.
In the waters of China's beautiful Nansha Islands, there is a dilapidated ship, but it has become a "signpost" for the Philippines to attempt to encroach on China's sovereignty in the South China Sea.
From beginning to end, the Sierra Madre beaching at Ren'ai Jiao was a conspiracy orchestrated by the Philippines in an attempt to draw the attention of the international community to regional control of the South China Sea, so as to achieve the goal of encroaching on China's territorial waters.
Why, then, did our country take steps to pull out the nail of the Sierra Madre? Why did it allow it to run aground on Second Thomas Shoal for 24 years, and during that time it had a 24-year dispute with the Philippines?
Is it because Ren'ai Jiao is too far away from China's Hainan Island, and it is difficult to tow away the Sierra Madre in construction? Or do we have other concerns about the South China Sea dispute with the Philippines?
Let's review together"Sierra Madre"The beaching incident, starting from the standpoint of China and the Philippines, will go to the reasons behind it.
In 1999, the United States gave the Philippines military aid during World War II, the USS Sierra Madre, but in 1999, under the pretext of "mechanical failure", it was allowed to illegally "beach" on China's Ren'ai Jiao, which was 24 years of sitting.
In the Ren'ai Jiao incident, at first the Chinese side repeatedly demanded that the Philippine side immediately tow the landing ship out of the sea, but the Philippines always found excuses to delay it again and again until the "Sierra Madre" was seriously rusted and could not be navigated, and then tried to transport engineering materials to Ren'ai Jiao on the pretext of repairing the hull.
This kind of behavior of superficially repairing but in fact secretly displaying the warehouse was promptly stopped by the navy of China's Nansha Islands, because it is obvious that the purpose of the Philippine side is to take the opportunity to expand the base at Ren'ai Jiao.
The reef is only partially exposed at low tide at low tide, so if the Philippines were allowed to transport engineering materials to the reef, they would certainly reclaim land based on China's location on Mischief Reef, eventually turning the reef into the Philippines' "island."
However, once the Philippines renovates and expands Second Thomas Shoal, China's sovereignty and integrity will be seriously violated. As a result, China has been constantly patrolling Philippine vessels near Second Thomas Shoal for more than 20 years, and the Philippines has not been able to transport any steel bars to Second Thomas Island, except for fishing boats used for operations and cargo ships supplying the Sierra Madre.
The Sierra Madre has been stranded on Ren'ai Island for more than 20 years, and the Philippines** has been sending supplies to it just to ensure the survival of the crew. The existence of this ship, for the Philippines, is a kind of containment of China, as long as the crew is still there, China will not dare to act easily.
However, with the outbreak of the "Scarborough Shoal standoff" between China and the Philippines and the Philippines' referral of the South China Sea issue to the International Tribunal for the Sea, China's position has begun to harden.
In order to prevent the Sierra Madre from becoming a hidden danger for itself, China restricted the supply and transportation of the Philippines and tried to tow the abandoned ship several times.
In the face of China's intolerability, the Philippines has repeatedly shown weakness internationally, emphasizing that Ren'ai Jiao is only a disputed area, and then continues to create false "wolf coming" promises.
They even invited American journalists twice to record and report on the real lives of more than a dozen soldiers aboard the "Sierra Madre" in the name of following civilian ships to transport supplies.
In fact, "the soldiers aboard the Sierra Madre and the ship, which has been in service for more than half a century, have become one with Second Thomas Shoal and have become a metal tombstone". The reason why the Philippines invited American journalists to report on the incident is to incite the Western world's attention to Ren'ai Jiao, further internationalize the South China Sea issue, and thus increase its bargaining chips with China.
The Philippines' actions are undoubtedly self-defeating, but they have also exposed its shady motives on a global scale. They would rather sacrifice the daily lives of more than a dozen soldiers to endure the wind and sun in the waters of Second Thomas Shoal, and even the danger of being immersed in sea water at high tide, and threaten China with them as human weights.
So why did the Philippines make such a decision?
The Philippines' conspiracy to steal control of China's Nansha Islands has been planned for a long time. First, the geographical proximity has created an opportunity for the Philippines to take advantage of some of China's Nansha islands and reefs, and as far as Hainan Island is concerned, they are beyond our grasp.
Of course, the arrogance of the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries is actually driven by the United States. The Philippines** has long maintained close ties with the United States.
The Philippines is close to the United States, mainly because it was colonized by the United States twice in its history, and although it gained independence in the later period, the dominant industries and political forces in the country are still subject to American capital.
As a result of this situation, the Philippines ostensibly strives for its rights and interests in the South China Sea for maritime development, but in fact acts as the spokesperson of the United States in Southeast Asia, violating China's sovereignty in the South China Sea in order to achieve the goal of threatening China's Taiwan Strait issue.
In fact, the root cause of the US intervention in the South China Sea issue through the Philippines is to play the "Taiwan card" in geopolitical relations. At present, the United States has established five military bases in the Philippines, and Marcos Marcos' statement at the beginning of the year indicated that the United States plans to build four more military bases in Luzon and other places.
Please note that the US military deployment in the Philippines is across the sea from our Taiwan Province, which fully exposes their wolf ambitions. At the same time, the Philippines' fierce activities on the South China Sea issue are mainly due to the abundant oil and natural gas resources of China's Nansha Islands, and in the future international community, whoever can control energy will have the right to speak.
That is why the Philippines has shamelessly anchored the Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal, and also wants to follow the example of other islands and reefs in the South China Sea that continue to violate our country.
In August 2018, the Philippines attempted to perform its old trick again by sending the frigate "Del Bilal" to run aground near Half Moon Reef in China's Nansha waters. However, this time, our navy learned the lessons of the Second Thomas Shoal incident, quickly dispatched a coast guard from Mischief Island, and took a tough stance, forcing the Philippines to tow its frigate away.
This incident clearly shows that the Philippines has begun to succeed many times in this kind of behavior of covering up its ears and stealing bells, mainly because China did not have enough control over parts of the South China Sea in the past.
Recently, China's naval strength has been continuously improved, and the South China Sea strategy has been gradually promoted, and military forces have been installed on many islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands, and the transformation of Mischief Island is one of them.
Mischief Island, like Second Thomas Reef and Tong's Second Thomas Reef, was originally used as a safe haven for fishing boats. However, between 1995 and 1998, the Philippines tried to undermine China's markers in Mischief Reef, Half Moon Reef and other waters, and the two sides engaged in a three-year standoff.
Although China's sovereignty over Mischief Reef has been upheld and the Navy has been dispatched on many occasions, it is difficult to stop the Philippine aggression in time due to the distance between Mischief Reef and Hainan Island.
In the face of interference from the Philippines, after careful consideration, China launched the reclamation project in the Mischief Reef area. With the "China speed", we quickly completed the infrastructure construction of Mischief Island, making it not only the youngest administrative village in China, but also successfully established Mischief Airport.
Recognizing the decisive impact of airspace control on maritime ownership, we have established airports on Fiery Cross, Mischief, Subi and other islands and reefs.
That's why when the Philippines attempted to take a similar action again in 2018 on Half Moon Island, we were able to respond quickly and effectively stop it.
Ren'ai Jiao, which was originally located near Mischief Island, was not able to compete with the Philippines because of its aggressive actions, which eventually led to the current predicament.
So, does the Chinese side have the ability to remove the Sierra Madre? The answer is clearly yes.
It is understood that although the displacement of the "Sierra Madre" is close to 4,000 tons, after years of wind and sun, the ship has become very fragile, and the overall quality has been greatly reduced.
In contrast, China's current largest ** displacement is nearly 30,000 tons, and if you want to tow the "Sierra Madre", it can be said that it is as easy as a hand. So, is the Chinese side worried about the dozen or so Filipino soldiers currently living on the "Sierra Madre"?
Although the Chinese side has taken humanitarian considerations, it is not a problem for the Chinese Navy to properly deal with these "miserable people".
The root cause of China's long-standing restraint in the small actions of the Philippines and other countries lies in the estrangement between China and the United States, and the key to this estrangement lies in the U.S. interference in China's Taiwan issue.
Who is our friend and who is our enemy, as *** said, is the primary question of the revolution. We need to look at the South China Sea issue rationally, not be swayed by the noise of the Philippines and other countries, and concentrate on dealing with the contradictions between China and the United States, especially the hegemonic behavior of the United States against China.
The most effective strategy of the United States to contain China's development is to use the "Taiwan Strait issue" as an internal contradiction. They continue to send arms to Taiwan, intensify the arrogance of the ** forces, and internationalize the "Taiwan issue" in order to achieve the goal of "using Taiwan to contain China."
At the same time, they also support the "South China Sea dispute" provoked by the Philippines, which will incidentally exacerbate the Taiwan issue, ultimately putting China in a dilemma and weakening China's voice in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, China has adopted a strategy of tolerance and friendship because from the perspective of a community with a shared future for mankind, we hope to solve problems through peaceful means and win the understanding and support of our neighbors.
The primary challenge facing China is still the peaceful reunification of Taiwan, and only by accomplishing this grand goal can China truly seize the initiative in international relations. It indicates that once the Taiwan issue is resolved peacefully, then our control over many islands and reefs in the Spratly Islands will change from a dispute to an inevitability.
Especially for Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, although they have historically been influenced by Western countries such as the United States, in essence, we are all Asian brothers.
If China achieves peaceful reunification, then among distant relatives and close neighbors, smart people naturally know how to make wise choices.
Through its calm response to the incident at Second Thomas Shoal, China has demonstrated a positive attitude towards resolving key internal issues. After decades of unremitting self-improvement, China not only has a well-equipped navy with strong combat effectiveness, but has also established a solid foothold on the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
With the passage of time, our country will not only satisfactorily resolve its own problems, but will also take the initiative to express friendship with its neighbors who have violated our territory.