Text: Lao Yan Kanshi
Editor|Lao Yan Kanshi
A few days ago, a protest march took place in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
The protesters surrounded the Chinese embassy in the Philippines and shouted, "The Chinese get out of the Philippines!"
In addition, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines have also carried out a large-scale build-up of troops in the South China Sea.
What's going on here?
South China Sea Arbitration
The South China Sea is not only a key maritime communication route in Southeast Asia, but also rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas.
In recent years, the Philippines has continued to express its claims to parts of the South China Sea through some means, and even directly divided some areas of the South China Sea into the so-called "Western Philippine Sea".
On the face of it, the Philippine government is inclined to resolve disputes through international legal means. In 2013, the Philippine government unilaterally requested the court to arbitrate against China.
The ad hoc arbitral tribunal, composed of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague of the Netherlands, is composed of China and the Philippines, and such an arbitral tribunal undoubtedly lacks the most important impartiality of the law and lacks legal jurisdiction to hear cases.
In addition, the arbitral tribunal accepted the unilateral claim of the Philippines, but did not fully consider China's position and rights and interests as a party during the hearing, and arbitrarily expanded its powers and exceeded its authority. This is undoubtedly a political show under the banner of law, and China's views are no longer on their radar.
The arbitral tribunal had made its decision, and it was clear that there would be a mixed reaction from the international community. There is no doubt that the Philippines is determined to move forward with the arbitration process. China has always firmly opposed the unilateral South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the Philippines and has adopted a "four noes" policy in this regard.
In 2016, the Hague International Court of Arbitration issued a final ruling on the South China Sea arbitration, supporting the Philippines' claims without suspense, rejecting China's claims, and asserting that ownership of the South China Sea does not continue to China.
The Philippine government accepted this, while the Chinese government said that the ruling was illegal and ultra vires, and that it did not have any legal effect. At the same time, many international law experts and scholars have also questioned the legitimacy and fairness of the ruling.
Not only that, in this year, the final ruling of the South China Sea arbitration case triggered a wide response from the official and non-governmental organizations in China, and slogans such as "China is not left behind" and "Those who offend China will be punished even if they are far away" have become hot topics of public opinion.
With the unity of the whole people and the high patriotic sentiment, ordinary people expressed their dissatisfaction with the arbitration outcome and their support for the country's position through social media, online forums, street interviews, etc., forming a broad public consensus.
Shortly after the ruling, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took office, and China-Philippines relations have been temporarily warmed.
Recent developments
With the rapid changes in the international situation, the Philippines has now started to think crookedly about the South China Sea. There was the South China Sea arbitration case in the past, and then there was the malicious and continuous grounding of Ren'ai Jiao.
Twenty-five years have passed since the Philippine warship ran aground at Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea in 1999, and although the Chinese government has repeatedly lodged solemn protests and representations demanding that the Philippines immediately tow away the stranded warship, the Philippine side has not implemented it for a long time.
Instead, attempts to repair warships and attempt to transport supplies to maintain an illegal presence constitute an ongoing violation of Chinese territory.
Recently, China launched a water cannon attack on illegal Philippine warships as a warning, and at the same time knocked on the United States, which was secretly obstructing.
In response, the Philippines has also responded. On April 9 this year, the mainland embassy in the Philippines was besieged. There is no credibility that the Philippine government is not operating in the shadows when such an incident broke out in the Philippine capital.
It can be seen that the sentiment of the Filipino people is already high, they warn China, reprimand China for "attacking" Philippine warships in the South China Sea, and are very dissatisfied with China's disobedience to the "South China Sea arbitration".
He even called out to the Chinese embassy in the Philippines to get them to leave the Philippines. What's more, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines have massed heavily in the South China Sea and pretended to conduct exercises, which in fact poses a serious challenge to China's territorial sovereignty.
As can be seen from historical cases, this means of behavior does not solve the problem!
This is not humanitarian, but will also lead to chaos in social order, exacerbate regional tensions, and pose a threat to peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
And these so-called "military exercises" are undoubtedly aimed at China. The Philippines hopes to force China to cede the South China Sea with the help of its allies, so as to gain territorial sovereignty over the South China Sea.
The United States, out of its deployment in the Asia-Pacific region, has also adopted a strategy of attacking China, fanning the flames and instigating the Philippines to constantly challenge China.
This act is a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a threat to the personal safety of mainland diplomats, and a provocation to the sovereignty and dignity of the mainland.
In response, the mainland government quickly responded by strongly condemning this illegal act and demanding that the Philippine government fulfill its international obligations and take effective measures to ensure the safety of the mainland embassy and its staff.
In the face of a complex and volatile situation, China's naval and air forces have also demonstrated firm determination and strong strength.
The Chinese Navy's warship formations have carried out regular patrols and drills in the South China Sea, and Air Force fighters have frequently conducted long-range flight training to strengthen patrols and monitoring in the airspace over the South China Sea to ensure the safety of the mainland's airspace.
China's naval and air forces have taken concrete actions to defend China's territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests, while actively seeking peaceful settlement of disputes and maintaining regional stability.
By demonstrating the mainland's powerful naval and air forces and efficient joint combat capabilities, it sends a clear signal to the outside world that China has the ability and determination to defend its territorial integrity and maritime jurisdiction, and will resolutely respond to any attempted violation.
At the same time, history repeats itself once again. Unlike the Manila demonstrations, the Chinese government's actions are worthy of humanitarianism.
On Chinese social media, topics such as "protecting the safety of diplomats" and "supporting the motherland to defend its sovereignty" have sparked heated discussions, demonstrating the high degree of unity and firm stance of the mainland people in the face of national interests.
The government and the people unanimously condemned the siege, which created strong external pressure, and demanded that the Philippine government immediately and properly handle the matter and restore the normal work order of the mainland embassy.
Despite the military external pressure of the four countries, China has always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, advocated the settlement of disputes through dialogue and consultation, and opposed any form of threat or use of force.
In the future, China will continue to uphold the concept of peaceful development and work with all parties to build a harmonious and stable new order in the South China Sea, rather than military conflict.