The "South China Sea linkage" that we had been fearing for a long time has finally happened. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is committed to Ren'ai Jiao and other islands and reefs in the South China Sea, has recently pulled Vietnam into an "anti-China pirate ship". According to the reference news network, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos will visit Vietnam in the near future. During the visit, the Philippines and Vietnam will sign a memorandum of understanding on coast guard cooperation and engage in dialogue on defense and security cooperation. Just before the official announcement, the Philippine military had just airdropped supplies to the warship "Sierra Madre", which was illegally beached at Second Thomas Shoal, and at the same time, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs openly claimed so-called "sovereignty" over the mainland's Xisha and Nansha Islands. All signs indicate that the Philippines and Vietnam have begun to jointly target the mainland in the South China Sea, coupled with the assistance of the United States, Japan, Germany and other Western anti-China countries, and the collusion of internal and external forces, the situation of struggle in the South China Sea has become increasingly grim.
What really worries China is that with the Philippines as the first bird, more countries in the South China Sea will be instigated and influenced, coupled with the fanning and assistance of foreign forces, the heat and risks of the South China Sea issue will continue to ferment, which will challenge the rules and order based on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. In particular, ASEAN countries already have a dispute of interest with us in the South China Sea, and at the instigation of the Philippines and the United States, there will always be a few countries that will not be willing to be lonely, so they will follow in the footsteps of the Philippines and target the mainland on the South China Sea issue.
Taking Vietnam as an example, although the Sino-Vietnamese self-defense counterattack that broke out in the seventies and eighties of the 20 th century hurt the Vietnamese, it never extinguished the ambitions of the Vietnamese. Especially at sea, whether it was during the period of the partition of North and South Vietnam, or today, oil and gas resources and islands and reefs have always been the focus of conflicts between Vietnam and the mainland. To date, Vietnam has also illegally seized numerous mainland islands and reefs in the South China Sea. Compared with the Philippines, Vietnam has been on the construction and development of islands and reefs for a longer period of time and has made greater efforts. In particular, the Vietnamese have made a fortune by illegally plundering offshore oil and gas resources, and the oil and gas resources in the South China Sea have brought a lot of wealth to the country. Occupying a cornucopia, Vietnam will not give up easily, and the instigation of the Philippines and the backing of the United States have made Vietnam openly stand on our side.
Of course, the goal of the Philippines' "South China Sea linkage" is far more than Vietnam, but the entire 10 ASEAN countries. During the 2023 ASEAN Summit, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who attended the meeting, hyped up the South China Sea issue and sang a chorus with US Vice President Kamala Harris, who also attended the meeting. With the help of the United States, the Philippines hopes to pull more ASEAN countries into the water and make the South China Sea issue more complicated.
As everyone knows, most ASEAN countries are reluctant to take sides, which makes Marcos Jr. change his strategy and start tackling key problems one by one. Taking Indonesia, the leader of ASEAN, as an example, as early as the beginning of this year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo received a high-level reception from Marcos Jr. during his visit to the Philippines. During this period, the South China Sea issue was also the focus of dialogue between the two sides. Marcos Jr. is eager to use Indonesia's influence in ASEAN countries to further hype up the South China Sea issue. As everyone knows, in the context of the "Belt and Road" cooperation, the economic and trade exchanges between Indonesia and the mainland are continuing to heat up, and there is no territorial contradiction between the two countries, which makes Marcos Jr.'s discordant plan unable to succeed.
Now, with Vietnam leaning into the Philippines and the U.S. camp, the situation in the South China Sea is even more complicated. On the one hand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei want to get a share of the oil and gas resources in the South China Sea, and on the other hand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea are also involved in the South China Sea disputes. In particular, the Western anti-China camp, during the 2023 G7 meeting, these countries openly interfered in the South China Sea issue, and in recent years, the United States-centered extraterritorial anti-China forces have frequently wooed ASEAN countries in an attempt to completely muddy the waters of the South China Sea. In the face of new crises and challenges, on the basis of maintaining strong determination, we must heighten our vigilance and make adequate preparations. Iron striking also needs its own hardness, with strong national strength and military strength as the foundation, we still have the same sentence: don't make trouble, don't be afraid of things!