Text: Qihan Round Table School
Editor|Qihan Round Table School
Preface
On April 11, according to a report by Huanqiu.com, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos recently made a major decision to completely overturn the China-related policies of his predecessor Duterte and not recognize the "gentlemen's agreement" reached between the Duterte government and China.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. turned around and demanded $100 billion from the United States after making a series of exorbitant demands on relations with China, treating politics as a bargain and claiming to the United States that he could pay it off within 10 years.
In the face of Marcos's repeated provocations, China has gradually lost patience and drawn three "red lines" to issue a stern warning to the Philippines.
Marcos provoked trouble
There are always some countries in the world that, like clowns, continue to stir up trouble on the international stage, just for their own selfishness, and the Philippines is a typical example.
The Marcos administration's attitude towards China is very entangled, and it seems that they are not unaware of the gap between themselves and China, nor do they harbor any deep hatred for China, and behind this seemingly unreasonable trouble, it is only the Marcos administration to satisfy its own greedy desires.
On the one hand, the Philippines covets maritime resources that do not belong to them, and on the other hand, it is to show courtesy to the United States, but this is undoubtedly playing with fire.
Provocation in the face of China will only put itself in a greater predicament, and Marcos is extremely foolish to try to challenge the authority of a great power on his own.
However, in the recent tensions between China and the Philippines, we have seen an unprecedented change, and the Chinese government has responded to the Philippine provocations with a calm attitude compared to the angry condemnations in the past.
Since taking office, Marcos has been quite "willful" in foreign policy, especially when it comes to the South China Sea, and he even does not hesitate to challenge China's core interests in exchange for political support and economic assistance from the United States.
Even against this backdrop, the Chinese government has not chosen to confront it, but has always exercised restraint and sought dialogue to resolve the issue.
The Marcos administration is not true to its word
Recently, however, a series of moves by the Philippine side have made China and the world see the true intention behind it: an attempt to use international public opinion to stir up regional disputes in order to benefit from them.
During this period, the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry repeatedly stressed that China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters is indisputable. However, the Philippine side has made a big fuss about this issue, and even does not hesitate to go against historical facts and existing agreements.
Looking over the long river of history, we can see that after the end of World War II, the Chinese government at that time recovered the Nansha Islands occupied by Japan in accordance with the "Cairo Declaration" and the "Potsdam Proclamation" in accordance with the law.
Since then, despite the changes in the world pattern, China's sovereignty over the Spratly Islands has never wavered, and this insistence has been recognized by many countries and organizations, including the United Nations, especially during Duterte's presidency of the Philippines, when China-Philippines relations reached unprecedented peace.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to contribute to the development of China-Philippines relations, because it is in the best interests of the two peoples, and China has highly praised and affirmed his efforts and achievements in promoting China-Philippines relations.
China and the Philippines once reached a consensus to jointly develop the resources of the waters around Ren'ai Jiao for peaceful coexistence and mutual benefit, but now the Marcos regime has denied the existence of this agreement and is bent on letting the military entrench itself on Ren'ai Jiao in an attempt to forcibly change the status quo.
Marcos preached peaceful coexistence with China in the run-up to the election, but now he has no recollection of his previous pledges, and the Philippines seems to have deliberately ignored these ironclad historical facts, even ignoring the agreements reached between his predecessor Duterte and China.
As the president of the Philippines, Marcos could not have found out about the existence of an agreement between the Philippine government and China after taking office for so long, which shows that he has ulterior motives.
Such perfidy not only hurts China's feelings, but also undermines the overall stability of the South China Sea.
China has issued a warning to the Marcos administration
The conspiracy behind this is not only the result of the domestic political struggle in the Philippines, but also the operation of some Western powers, and even then China has enough confidence and strength to deal with it.
China is also well aware that peaceful development is the general trend of the world, but it will not tolerate those that endanger national sovereignty and territorial security.
In this regard, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning solemnly stated that the Chinese government's position on the current situation at Ren'ai Jiao is clear and unambiguous, and to this end, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea is the basic principle, and three red lines have been drawn on the Ren'ai Jiao issue that cannot be crossed, so as to defend China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests from infringement.
First, China demands that the Philippines immediately tow away the warship that had been "beached" for a long time at Ren'ai Jiao and restore its original status of no one and no facilities.
Second, if the Philippines needs to provide daily necessities for the occupants of the ship, the Chinese side is willing to proceed from humanitarian reasons, and after prior notice and on-site verification, the Chinese side will allow the Philippine side to carry out the replenishment under the supervision of the Chinese side throughout the process.
Third, if the Philippines attempts to establish a fixed permanent post on the ship, the Chinese government will resolutely take necessary measures to safeguard China's sovereignty.
China's calm response to the Marcos administration has been more calm than angry condemnation, because it shows that China's patience is dwindling, the Philippine government has less room to maneuver in dealing with diplomatic relations with China, and if the Philippine government insists on going its own way, China will not continue to tolerate it.
Information sources: 1. Xinhuanet - Foreign Minister: The sovereignty claim of Nansha has not been expanded and will never be reduced
2. Phoenix.com - Marcos denied the "gentlemen's agreement" between China and the Philippines and clamored that "the new DPRK does not admit old accounts", and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded
3. Huanqiu.com - The President of the Philippines said he was shocked that the Duterte administration and China had reached a "gentlemen's agreement" on the Ren'ai Jiao issue, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded