From 11 to 12 July, the Chinese defense minister went abroad for the first time to attend the 8th China-Vietnam border defense friendship exchange activity in Lao Cai, Vietnam, and held a meeting with the Vietnamese defense minister. During this period, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a hotline between the Southern Theater of Operations and the Vietnamese Navy.
The Chinese side pointed out that it is willing to work with Vietnam to carry forward the deep friendship of "comrades and brothers" and raise the strategic mutual trust between the two militaries to a new height. The Vietnamese side expressed its gratitude to the Chinese side for its assistance in Vietnam's national liberation struggle and national construction, always regarded the development of Vietnam-China relations as a diplomatic priority, and was willing to push bilateral defense relations to a new height.
Marcos Jr. also wanted to win over Vietnam to join forces to resist China, and as a result, Hanoi has now directly reached a military cooperation agreement with the PLA, and the military operations of the two sides will exchange information. This also means that the Philippines is isolated within ASEAN. With Vietnam's military assurances, China can also free up its hands to concentrate on the Philippines.
Minister of Defense of China and Vietnam
Marcos Jr.'s original intention was to seek the United States and Japan as a protective umbrella and develop anti-China helpers within ASEAN, but as a result, stealing chickens and rice did not become a loss, and China was counter-generalized. To make matters worse, the Philippines is alone in the South China Sea, and is powerless to defend itself against Chinese coast guard ships and vessels, which are much larger than its own. And Marcos Jr.'s cruel words about China in Washington have now become boomerang to pierce himself.
The Southern Theater continues to step up military training and preparedness in the South China Sea, and Duterte has warned that the Philippines is dependent on the United States and puts itself at risk of war and conflict.
Faced with this situation, the Philippines began to panic. As soon as the Japan-Philippines summit began, Marcos Jr. called out to China that the Philippines is willing to maintain dialogue with China at all levels to avoid the situation in the South China Sea from heating up and no more collisions, water cannons and other incidents. However, now the initiative in the situation is in the hands of China.
Max
The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said that if the Philippine side really wants to ease the situation at Ren'ai Jiao through dialogue and communication, the key is to keep its promises, abide by consensus, and stop provocations. On how to deal with the current situation at Ren'ai Jiao, China's position is clear and unambiguous, and it demands that the Philippine side tow away the beached ship as soon as possible and restore the original status quo of Ren'ai Jiao as no one and no facilities.
First, Marcos Jr. wanted to tear up the "gentlemen's agreement" reached between China and the Philippines and refused to recognize it, but now there is no other way but to follow China's solution.
Before going to Washington to attend the US-Japan-Philippines summit, Marcos Jr. declared in a high-profile manner that he had no knowledge of the "gentlemen's agreement" between China and the Philippines on the Ren'ai Jiao issue, and that he was "shocked" by the Philippine side's move to reach a compromise on the issue of territorial sovereignty through a secret agreement, so it was difficult for the Philippines to abide by it.
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the Philippines
Marcos Jr.'s calculation is very clear, that is, to use the momentum of the US-Japan-Philippines alliance to force China to make concessions on the Ren'ai Jiao issue, and then overturn the China-Philippines agreement.
Whether it is firing water cannons to expel Philippine ships that illegally trespass on Ren'ai Jiao, setting up a hotline with the Vietnamese Navy, or making a list of Philippine ships this time, China has clearly drawn a red line.
Secondly, Marcos Jr.'s visit to the United States seems to have gained a lot, not only forming an alliance between the United States, Japan and the Philippines, obtaining US security commitments, but also getting Biden's infrastructure investment, which will launch the "Luzon Economic Corridor". But what does this look like in reality?
U.S.-Japan-Philippines Summit
Biden said the U.S. would respond to China's alleged "attack" on the Philippines by invoking the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty. But the fact is that Iran and Israel may be fighting in the Middle East, the United States is urgently increasing its troops, and now Allah Lebanon has launched its first wave of rocket strikes against Israel. Once the war expands, Marcos Jr. will become an outcast.
Finally, let's talk about Biden's infrastructure plan. Even the Philippines itself does not have the confidence to believe in the empty promises made by the United States.
On the 12th, Marcos Jr. urgently clarified that the tripartite agreement between the United States, Japan and the Philippines will not affect Chinese investment in the Philippines. Against the backdrop of tensions between China and the Philippines, Duterte recently said that Chinese investment in the Philippines is stagnating.
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