On April 27, Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro announced that he was not aware of the "gentlemen's agreement" reached between the previous Philippine government and China on the South China Sea dispute, and did not know what the agreement specifically stipulated.
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Not long ago, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos also stated that the "gentlemen's agreement" was the act of the previous government and had nothing to do with this government, and they did not know about it.
I really didn't expect that they, as the president and defense minister, could be so disrespectful of morality and completely dishonest at all. Could it be that the implication is that the previous is the past, and the present is the present, and the content of this agreement is considered invalid?
In 1999, because of the big differences between China and the Philippines over the issue of Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea, the Philippines disregarded international public opinion and trespassed into the waters of the South China Sea without authorization, illegally carried out activities near Ren'ai Jiao, and directly dispatched the USS Sierra Madre to anchor in the waters of Ren'ai Jiao.
In 2002, the mainland, the Philippines and other countries jointly announced the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which stipulates that all countries shall maintain the status quo of uninhabited islands and shall not set up buildings or equipment on uninhabited islands.
Later, when Duterte in the Philippines came to power, in order to stabilize relations with the mainland, they promised not to send construction materials to the Sierra Madre, and the mainland also allowed the Philippines to send supplies to the Sierra Madre in order to show the demeanor of a great power and humanitarianism. This peace agreement between the two countries was later dubbed the "gentlemen's agreement" by international public opinion.
However, unexpectedly, after Marcos came to power in 2022, he repeatedly tested the bottom line of the mainland from shirk to denial, and Marcos also pretended to be very surprised by this so-called gentleman's agreement, obviously he was pretending to be confused. He relied on the United States as a defense backer, and said that he wanted to do something on his own soil, why did he need the consent of other countries?
Recently, the Philippines has been putting on a frenzied show, first tentatively sending construction materials to the Sierra Madre, then being warned by the mainland's coast guard's water cannons, then jumping out to claim that it did not know about the "gentlemen's agreement" in an attempt to break the treaty, and then holding joint military exercises with the United States in the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait.
On April 24, an audio message claiming to be Marcos was leaked in the Philippines, declaring that they wanted to protect what belonged to them and that they would launch a military operation against China. Marcos, however, hurriedly denied it: I didn't say it! This is a forgery! He also urged to quickly find out who is behind this and not to damage the friendly relations between the Philippines and China.
The Philippines' three-day performance behavior is really incomprehensible, trying to tear up the agreement while desperately explaining.
In fact, the Philippines itself does not have much confidence in its own hearts, and its actions have not won the support of international public opinion and their local people, and many people believe that the Philippines is being led by the nose by the United States and has become a pawn of the United States in stirring up the Asia-Pacific region.
There are people in the Philippines who protest Marcos's actions, saying that the Philippines is being used by the United States to contain China. If the Philippines continues like this, it will undoubtedly be regarded by the United States as their "new colony" to suppress China and maintain US hegemonism.
At this time, their backer in the United States is facing a general election, whether it is Biden or Trump, at this time in the United States is facing huge public opinion pressure, the United States is dragging the whole country into multiple tensions, resulting in the United States economic development is restricted.
At this time, the United States will not make too big moves on the Sino-Philippine issue at all, and it is the best situation for the United States to keep the status quo as it is. Therefore, the Philippines is undoubtedly slapping itself in the face by hoping for the United States at this time.
As a military power, how can the mainland be cowardly in the face of the Philippines? The reason why the mainland and the Philippines agreed on this gentleman's agreement is the biggest concession made by the mainland for the common development of both sides, and the purpose is to maintain the peaceful situation in the Asia-Pacific region, and this is the best choice for the Philippines.