The situation in the South China Sea has intensified, and the Philippines, with the connivance and support of the United States, Japan and other foreign forces, has intensified its provocations against China. The first is the issue of the United States, Japan and the Philippines holding a so-called trilateral summit and issuing a joint statement.
Trilateral summit between the United States, Japan and the Philippines
Not long ago, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines held trilateral talks in the United States, in which U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made irresponsible remarks about bilateral affairs between China and the Philippines on the pretext of discussing security issues, and issued a so-called joint statement after the trilateral talks.
In the statement, the United States, Japan and the Philippines stated that they were gravely concerned about China's activities in the South China Sea and called on China to abide by the outcome of the 2016 so-called "South China Sea Arbitration."
As we all know, the South China Sea issue is a matter between countries in the region, and even if there is a dispute between China and the Philippines, it should be resolved within the region. Japan is far away in the East China Sea, and the United States is a completely extraterritorial country, so it is not qualified to meddle in the frictions and disputes between China and the Philippines at all.
As for what they called the 2016 "South China Sea Arbitration Award", it was an illegal award from beginning to end.
Nanhai Zhudao is China's inherent territory
As early as 2016, after the so-called "ruling" was issued, the United Nations, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice all made statements on it, saying that they had nothing to do with the ruling.
It proves that the so-called "international criminal tribunal" sought by the Philippines is not an authoritative platform at all, and it is not qualified to manage the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines, and China is unlikely to recognize this outcome.
What is particularly ironic is that the United States, as a country that has not yet signed the "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," has joined Japan and the Philippines in demanding that China accept this illegal "ruling" under the banner of "upholding the Law of the Sea." It can be said that it is both shameless and funny.
In response to this incident, on April 18, mainland Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference that China firmly opposes the manipulation of bloc politics by relevant countries, and will never accept groundless accusations and malicious smears against China by relevant countries on the South China Sea issue.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian
At the same time, Lin Jian also stressed that China will continue to defend its legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law, and advised relevant countries to recognize the facts and not make mistakes again and again.
This "relevant country" obviously refers to the Philippines, and the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country said that he hopes that it will recognize the facts and not make mistakes again and again, which is actually the most direct and stern warning to the Philippines.
Secondly, the second thing is that the United States and the Philippines are about to hold a "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise. This so-called "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint exercise is part of the routine military exercise between the United States and the Philippines, and it does not in itself contribute to peace and stability in the region.
It is understood that from April 22 to May 8, as many as 17,000 people may participate in this year's "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercise held by the United States and the Philippines.
U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises
Moreover, the target of the exercise was selected as a decommissioned Philippine supply ship, which was originally a civilian ship made in China and used by Philippine companies. This has also been interpreted by the media as a joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines aimed at China.
In this regard, at a regular press conference on April 17, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian issued a warning in advance about this matter, reminding the Philippine side that it should be soberly aware that attracting foreign countries to show off force and provoke confrontation in the South China Sea will only aggravate tensions and undermine regional stability.
If the Philippines tries to bring in external forces to safeguard its so-called own security, it will only lead to greater insecurity and even become a pawn of others.
In response to such provocative acts, China will take necessary measures to firmly defend its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, so as to ensure overall peace and stability in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
In response to the US-Philippine joint military exercise, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China not only issued a stern warning to the Philippines, but also bluntly stated China's position, that is, China will not sit idly by and watch such actions by the United States and the Philippines to deliberately disrupt the regional security situation, and will take necessary measures.
To put it bluntly, isn't the purpose of the United States and the Philippines to flex their muscles to China in this joint military exercise with great fanfare? Now that the Chinese side has directly "made its cards clear," we will not only not be intimidated by the bluffing actions of the United States and the Philippines, but will not condone their mistakes again and again, and will take resolute measures.
Finally, there is another thing that has triggered a warning from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country, that is, the US Pacific Army recently announced that it has deployed an intermediate-range missile launch system on the Philippine island of Luzon as part of a joint exercise between the United States and the Philippines.
Since this is the first deployment of ground-launched medium-range missiles in Asia since the United States withdrew from the "Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty," some Western media said that the US move is aimed at "deterring China."
U.S. medium-range missile system
On April 18, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spokesman Lin Jian said that the US move has exacerbated regional tensions and increased the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculation, and that China has always firmly opposed the deployment of medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region by the United States in order to seek unilateral military superiority, especially strengthening forward deployment at China's doorstep.
At the same time, the Chinese side also warned the Philippines and advised it to be soberly aware of the real purpose of this move by the United States and the serious consequences of pandering to the United States, not to sacrifice its own security interests to take the United States into the fire, and not to go further and further down the wrong path.
Judging from these three warnings, it can be clearly seen that China's attitude on the recent deepening collusion between the United States, Japan and the Philippines is very clear, that is, it sternly warns the Philippines, and at the same time resolutely makes it clear to the United States that China opposes the United States' position of intervening in the South China Sea, but if the Philippines insists on pulling the United States into the market in a vain attempt to undermine the regional security situation, China is not afraid.
To put it bluntly, China's position is that if the Philippines continues to take such reckless steps, then China will certainly not sit idly by, and the Philippines thinks that if it has a military alliance with the United States, it can make China dare not act against them because it is afraid of the United States, which is absolutely a miscalculation.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducts live-fire exercises in the South China Sea
What China does in the South China Sea depends only on whether the other side's actions harm China's interests. Based on this, the more the United States and the Philippines collude now, the greater the risk and the greater the price to be paid by the Philippines.
Just as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, pulling the United States into the game will not make the Philippines safer, but will only make the Philippines more insecure.
These three warnings can be said to clearly tell the Philippines and even the United States China's attitude and possible next actions, and if they still do not repent, it will not be unexpected.