Citing the news released on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 12th, spokesperson Mao Ning was asked what he thought of US President Joe Biden's statement that he would strive to improve maritime security relations with Japan and the Philippines in the future, and said that the United States would invoke the "US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty" to respond to China's "attack" on the Philippines. The spokesperson made it clear that the US statement deviates from the basic facts and maliciously attacks China, which China strongly deplores and firmly opposes. The spokesman stressed that the countries concerned are in collusion with foreign forces and are willing to be pawns to contain China. I advise the countries concerned that the lessons of history are not far away, and the chess pieces will eventually become outcasts.
It is worth mentioning that not long ago, when the United States, Japan, Australia and the Philippines held a joint military exercise at sea, some media asked the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense at a press conference on the 12th what they thought of the Biden administration's claim that any attack on Philippine aircraft, ships and armed forces would trigger the "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty". Spokesman Wu Qian showed no mercy in his deterrent remarks, bluntly saying that defense cooperation between any countries should not be aimed at other countries or undermine regional peace, and that China's activities in the South China Sea are reasonable, lawful and beyond reproach.
The spokesman stressed that China has never bullied the small with the big on the South China Sea issue, but it will never allow the Philippines to make unreasonable trouble. In fact, in the past few months, the mainland's attitude toward the Philippines in the South China Sea has actually become more harsh. In dealing with Philippine coast guard vessels and supply vessels that trespassed on China's Nansha Islands, our side has become more and more decisive in dealing with them. In particular, when emergencies arise, the subjective initiative of our coast guard force has been fully unleashed. However, in contrast, our coast guard has taken strong but restrained measures in the process of handling the situation, so that the Philippines can only use the so-called "conflict video" to cry out in the international community from beginning to end, but it cannot use this as an excuse to incite the rest of ASEAN countries to "resist China".
At present, Marcos took advantage of the special juncture of the United States to expand the Indo-Pacific encirclement of China and went to Washington to "accept the name" to Biden. And Biden is also happy to see it, pushing the boat down the river to issue a threatening warning to the mainland, trying to reshape his image as an "anti-China leader". Regarding the current sharp decline in China-Philippines relations, which may even lead to the point of fighting each other, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his concern in an exclusive interview with mainland media.
According to a report published by the Global Times on the 12th, Duterte made it clear in an interview that during his presidency, he tried to maintain a friendly attitude towards all countries, which naturally included China and the United States. But now, it is difficult for the United States to like what it says and does, and it prefers China in comparison. Duterte further noted that he regretted that the Belt and Road Initiative was shelved in the Philippines and that he hoped that China would "continue to grow stronger" from an economic perspective.
It is not difficult to see that after the Duterte family broke openly with Marcos, the position of friendship with China became more and more obvious. From a practical point of view, because the discourse in Philippine politics is either a confidant appointed by Marcos or a pro-American force rooted in Philippine society, the rationalist faction represented by Duterte is constantly being suppressed. Therefore, expecting the Duterte family to turn the tide from within is ultimately out of touch with reality. And when the Philippines is unable to take advantage of the "great power game" and even suffers substantial losses for what it has done, the rationalists in the Philippines have room to play.
The core point of the dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea stems precisely from the gross interference of foreign forces. As long as China can resolve this major contradiction, the South China Sea issue will be self-defeating and China-Philippines relations will be back on track.