The Chinese Foreign Ministry had just met with the Philippine ambassador to China on March 16, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who had just run a lap from Europe and the United States, met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Immediately after that, the scene of "34 Philippine people illegally forcibly landed on the Wire Reef" was staged, and the matter was laid out on the bright side, Marcos Jr., relying on the support of the United States, wanted to create an incident in the South China Sea, completely ignoring China's long-term restraint and advice.
So, the question is, can the United States support the Philippines?
Let's talk about the background first, after Marcos Jr. came to power, he became a pawn of the United States in the South China Sea, and the Philippines not only added five new military bases to the US military, but also recently built US military bases very close to Taiwan Province.
In addition, the Philippine side's illegal actions on islands and reefs in the South China Sea have not stopped, and despite China's goodwill and restraint, the Philippine side has not stopped its provocations, but has intensified them.
Marcos Jr. has continued to expand the armed capabilities of the Coast Guard, purchasing or receiving many weapons and equipment from India, Japan, the United States and other countries, so he has stepped up illegal incursions in the South China Sea. Although China has adopted measures such as shipping route control and water cannon interception, the Philippines has not changed its approach and is trying to permanently undermine peace and stability in the South China Sea.
In addition, the Philippine side has also hyped up a lot of hype, trying to use "international arbitration" and other methods to confuse the public. China has never warned "extraterritorial countries" not to intervene in the South China Sea by name, but now it has directly warned the United States not to intervene in the South China Sea issue, and has not been able to stop the United States from pursuing its ambitions in the South China Sea.
Because anyone with a discerning eye knows that the United States is trying to make the situation in the South China Sea complicated and chaotic, and is trying to contain China by taking advantage of the "first island chain" of "South Korea-Japan-Guam-Philippines-India" that runs through it.
Let's talk about the Philippines' forcible invasion of the Wire Reef. Previously, the Philippines had set up military facilities and radar stations on Thitu Island, one of the eight islands and reefs it had illegally occupied, and continued to cause trouble in the waters of Ren'ai Jiao and Scarborough Shoal, while at the same time not giving up causing trouble on other islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
Recently, Marcos Jr. went around Australia, Europe and the United States, and constantly hyped up the "China topic" and the "South China Sea topic" along the way, and the result was basically deflated. On the one hand, countries in the South China Sea do not want other countries outside the region to intervene and undermine the regional situation; on the other hand, the image of the Philippines hugging the United States and causing trouble everywhere has made all countries realize that it will not end well in the future.
China-Philippines relations have long stood at a crossroads, and Marcos Jr. has never fulfilled his promise to China to "manage maritime differences and de-escalate the situation", but has continued to add fuel to the fire. In this regard, the Chinese side has communicated with the Philippine side through various departments and channels, and it can be said that the "good words and bad words" have been exhausted, and the Philippine side has swayed from side to side, sometimes agreeing and sometimes giving up.
Sure enough, on March 18, as soon as Marcos Jr. returned from his visit, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to the Philippines. On the 21st, the Philippines organized forces to attack the Nansha Railroad on a large scale.
It is worth mentioning that on March 16, Marcos of the Philippines met with the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines and unabashedly demanded large amounts of food aid and large quantities of fertilizer aid from China, as well as loans.
On July 17, Liu Jinsong, Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with Philippine Ambassador to China Jimmy, and the Chinese side made solemn representations to the other side on the Philippine side's recent negative statements on China, as well as issues related to Taiwan and the South China Sea, expressing strong dissatisfaction and China's firm position. Ambassador Jimmy expressed his willingness to manage differences and promote the stabilization and recovery of bilateral relations.
Looking at the timeline, it is not difficult for us to find that the Philippines is riding on the wall, asking for assistance with one hand and slapping with the other, which is really too deceitful!
There are a total of 367 standard names for Nanhai Zhudao, and the number of Tie Line Reef is "No. 113", and the number is 112 Thitu Island and 114 Subi Reef. Since the Wire Reef is only 2.5 nautical miles from Thitu Island, a large reef is exposed at high tide and submerged below the surface of the water at low tide.
There is no way for us to set up a guard post on it at present, but the Thitu Island, which the Philippines has forcibly occupied, not only has a garrison, a large number of military installations, but also a radar station that has only recently been built. Subi Island, on the other hand, is 15 nautical miles from Wire Reef.
According to the statement issued by the China Coast Guard at 5:22 p.m. today, today (March 21), the Philippine side sent 34 personnel to ignore China's warnings and dissuasion and illegally land on the iron line reef of the Nansha Islands! Chinese coast guard law enforcement personnel landed on the reef in accordance with the law and investigated and dealt with it! The Chinese coast guard spoke out strongly urging the Philippine side to immediately stop infringing on the rights. At about 17 o'clock in the afternoon, there were two Chinese coast guard law enforcement vessels and 11 Chinese fishing boats on the line of Thitu Island and Tiexian Reef on the mainland.
However, almost at the same time, the Philippine side announced that it was a "scientific expedition". He claimed that the 34 Filipino personnel who landed on the Wire Reef today were made up of three research teams, including the Institute of Biology of the Philippine University of Diliman, the Philippine Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Authority, and the Philippine Department of Agriculture!
Judging from the video that came out, the Philippine side carefully conspired, made a surprise attack, calculated the time of low tide, secretly landed on the iron line reef, and was driven away when the Chinese coast guard arrived.
Obviously, this is Marcos Jr.'s "homework" to Blinken in response to his remarks about China during his stay in the Philippines. We will continue to rely on the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty" in an attempt to "rely on the United States to resist China."
However, the so-called support of the United States is nothing more than a banana coaxing monkeys, and whether they can eat it depends on the mood of the Americans.
There is no doubt that the United States wants to use the South China Sea issue to limit and suppress China and raise regional tensions so that it can gain more strategic space in planning its layout, but these islands and reefs coveted by the Philippines are not of much value to the United States. The United States hopes that there will be "something happening every day" in the South China Sea and wants to use the South China Sea issue to contain China, but it does not want a major incident in the South China Sea at this stage.
The reason is simple: once China directly uses naval power, the US military can only slip away from the Asia-Pacific region. The US side only provides verbal support, and can only clamp its tail and be a man when it comes to real knives and guns. However, if the Philippines continues to provoke China, it will not listen to persuasion or warnings, and it must also give it some color, otherwise it will fall into a "gray zone confrontation" and there will be no peace in the South China Sea in the future.
I suggest that next time, instead of using the coast guard force to try to intercept it, just launch a few anti-ship missiles and claim "scientific research." #菲方34人非法登上铁线礁 China's response#