On April 20, the Philippine government officially announced that it would tear up the "gentlemen's agreement" between the two countries, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country was strongly worded, and the Central Military Commission issued a stern warning in front of 28 countries.
A few days ago, Philippine National Security Adviser Arnold publicly stated that the current government is not aware of the so-called "gentlemen's agreement" between the two countries, and even if there is, it has been abolished. The Philippine political system is copied from the United States, and this national security adviser is equivalent to the role of Sullivan in the United States.
During the Aquino era, the Philippines initiated the so-called "South China Sea Arbitration", which led to tensions in the South China Sea and a sharp decline in Sino-Philippine relations. Later, the Philippines also implemented the agreement and settled down in the South China Sea.
When Marcos took office, the Philippine government was able to maintain stability in the South China Sea and abide by the agreement. But soon, Marcos showed his true colors, implemented a unilateral pro-US and anti-China diplomatic strategy, deliberately provoked incidents in the South China Sea, created tensions in the South China Sea, and caused relations between the two countries to fall to a freezing point.
The Marcos administration's pro-US and anti-China diplomacy has made the regional situation increasingly tense, not only isolated by ASEAN countries, but also caused Chinese investment in the Philippines to almost stagnate or even withdraw, which has made the Philippines, which is already in economic difficulties, even worse.
Previously, Duterte had reminded that there was such a "gentleman's agreement", but Marcos ignored it and instead stepped up his closeness to the United States, actively participated in the United States' containment of China, as well as the Taiwan issue, and undermined China-Philippines relations.
Now, the Marcos government has completely and publicly torn up the "gentlemen's agreement", one is to attack the Duterte family, as the two major political families in the Philippines, the Duterte family and the Marcos family do not deal with each other, in addition to political power, but also because the two sides have different positions.
Sarah Duterte
The Marcos family almost controls the House of Representatives and responds to the high echelons of the Philippine government, while the vice president of the Philippines, Sarah Duterte, is considered the heir of the Duterte family, and like her father, she is also a neutral and friendly person to China, and they know that in the Western Pacific region, because of geopolitical factors, it is impossible for the Philippines to leave China, so their foreign policy is more neutral, and they do not want to get involved in the game between China and the United States.
Sarah Duterte, who has considerable influence in the Philippines, also represents the intellectuals in the Philippines, and is almost certain to participate in the Philippine presidential election in 2028. This is naturally not good for the Marcos family.
Therefore, it is reasonable to desperately suppress the Duterte family. Marcos' denial of the "gentleman's agreement" is aimed at undermining the Duterte family's prestige. On the 19th, Marcos's wife attacked Sarah Duterte in an interview with reporters. The Marcos did not want Sarah Duterte to be a threat to them.
Duterte was interviewed by the Global Times
In an interview with the "Global Times" a few days ago, Duterte said: The South China Sea was originally very calm, but the United States has made it full of quarrels! He is very grateful to China for sparing no effort to import Philippine goods and help the Philippines in the past, but now the diplomacy of the Marcos administration has made relations between the two countries tense and made him very sad.
In addition, Duterte said when talking about China and the United States: he does not like the ways and habits of the United States, prefers China, and hopes to be friends with China forever, and is very grateful for China's previous aid projects to the Philippines "One Belt, One Road", but it has been shelved, and he hopes that China and the Philippines can return to the normal track, and also hopes that China will become stronger.
and Marcos unilaterally pro-US and anti-China, following in the footsteps of the United States to contain China. Duterte is a politician, he knows what to do better for the country, he also knows who is the real friend, the "Belt and Road" initiative investment project, which was achieved during his tenure, but now because of Marcos's anti-China, there is a stagnation.
Marcos' denial of the "gentlemen's agreement" is also to show loyalty to the United States and actively take sides. Because now Marcos has offended China and become an outlier in ASEAN, he can only follow in the footsteps of the United States, cooperate with the containment of China, and act as the vanguard of anti-China urgency.
If in the past, provoking disputes in the South China Sea and forcibly invading Ren'ai Jiao made the situation in the South China Sea tense, then the Philippines allowed the United States to deploy an intermediate-range ballistic missile system aimed at China in Luzon, which is enough to cover all areas of South China and Southeast China.
Moreover, the Philippines has deployed a medium-range system, so will the ROK once again step up its efforts and deploy similar projects? In addition, the Philippines has also developed nine military bases for the US military, which means very obviously.
On April 22, the Philippines participated in the "Shoulder to Shoulder" joint military exercise of the United States, in which more than 5,000 Philippine troops and more than 11,000 U.S. troops conducted a joint military exercise in the South China Sea, which lasted until May 10.
Originally, on April 22, the Philippines participated in the 19th Western Pacific Naval Forum held by China, a total of 29 member states and observer states, and China invited all 28 countries to participate, including the United States, but the Philippines did not participate and did not give a reason.
This is to express toughness to China, or to save China's face and disrupt the forum. Regarding the provocation of the Philippines, on the 22nd, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin used harsh words: The "gentlemen's agreement" between the two countries not only exists in the previous government, but also has been fulfilled by this government, and the former Philippine government officials and the media have also acknowledged it, and the Philippines has repeatedly denied it.
At the Western Pacific Naval Forum held in Qingdao on the same day, Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended and delivered a speech, warning that China has always adhered to the principle of settling maritime disputes through friendly consultation with the countries directly concerned, but it will defend its rights in accordance with the law and defend its rights in accordance with the law for deliberate infringement and will resolutely counteract unreasonable provocations. We will not cause trouble, nor will we be afraid of it, and the Chinese armed forces will resolutely defend the reunification of the motherland and national interests.
Needless to say, who is talking about the settlement of maritime disputes through negotiation and the protection of rights and countermeasures in accordance with the law, it is needless to say, that is, the Philippines, but also other countries with ulterior motives, this is in front of the navies of 28 countries, among which there are also commanders-in-chief of the US and Russian navies, this kind of warning is also to show China's position and bottom line.
The territory and sovereignty of the South China Sea, as well as maritime rights and interests, are unquestionable and have belonged to China since ancient times. If the Philippines believes that it has the backing of the United States, actively participates in encircling China, and acts as a pawn in the game between China and the United States, it can only be said that Marcos, the Philippine president, is incompetent. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the United States hopes to turn the Philippines into a situation of "yesterday's Ukraine, today's East Asia".
But again, we will not cause trouble, nor will we be afraid of it, and we will resolutely fight back against any act that infringes on our national interests and territorial sovereignty.
Resources
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gave an exclusive interview to the Global Times: The South China Sea was originally very calm, but the United States made it full of quarrels! Global Times
In terms of China policy, the Philippines is becoming an outlier in ASEAN, according to the Global Times
The Philippines once again denied reaching a "gentlemen's agreement" with China, and China refuted Guangming.com
The United States and the Philippines and other countries will carry out annual "shoulder-to-shoulder" exercises, and will hold coastal defense exercises in the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait
The Philippine side denied the previous "gentlemen's agreement", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: what is trying to cover up? Strait Net
The 19th Annual Meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Forum opened in Qingdao, Shandong China Youth Network
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Philippines' repeated provocations in violation of its commitments will eventually affect itself Beijing News
The Philippines has no reason to be absent from the Western Pacific Naval Forum, expert: It cannot be ruled out that the Philippines will deliberately be absent to disrupt the forum Global Network
Zhang Youxia delivered a speech: "We will not cause trouble, and we will never be afraid of it."