#头条创作挑战赛#
Text/Zhan Hai
According to a report by local media ABS-CBN News on April 30, the Philippine military said that three Chinese research ships were found in the waters near Ren'ai Jiao. Commodore Trinidad, a spokesman for the Philippines' so-called West Philippine Sea, said the presence of the Chinese research vessels in the waters was apparently "deliberate" because the Philippines was holding Balikatan exercises with the United States and other countries.
The Philippine side claimed that one of the three Chinese research vessels that appeared near Ren'ai Jiao was the "Shen Kuo" research ship. According to the Philippines, the ship has been under Philippine surveillance since it set sail from Shenzhen. After departing from the port on April 19, the research ship "Shen Kuo" crossed the Bass Strait into the Philippine Sea, and then headed south, near the eastern waters of Catanraines Island in the eastern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
In order to prove that the Philippines was indeed "spying" the research ship, the Philippines claimed to have made several radio calls to the "Shen Kuo", but received no response. The Philippines used this to declare the Chinese research ship "arrogant". However, in fact, through the "ship news network" platform, we can find out all the sailing routes of the "Shen Kuo", which means that the "Shen Kuo" has been driving the ship positioning and communication system for the past few days, and the whole process is sailing on the high seas.
(The Philippine Navy claims to have been monitoring Chinese ships, and the Chinese Navy electronic reconnaissance ship is in the distance)
Now, the "Shen Kuo" is close to the waters near Ren'ai Jiao, which has made the Philippines feel uneasy, saying that the research ship is carrying "unknown equipment" and is also releasing equipment in the waters around the Philippines. The Philippine Navy said it was in close coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard and planned to send a warship to "respond" to the Shen Kuo. But due to "unfavorable sea conditions", they eventually had to return to port and tried to get the coast guard to send another ship to "inspect" the Chinese research vessel. During this period, the Philippine Air Force sent only one plane to take a photo of the "Shen Kuo" from a distance.
("Shen Kuo" photographed in the Philippines)
It is worth noting that the "Shen Kuo" oceanographic research ship is just an ordinary scientific research ship of more than 2,000 tons, and what kind of sea conditions can make the "Shen Kuo" not move at all, but make the Philippine Navy's warship "change color" and have to flee back to port? In fact, if the Philippines really dares to send warships to harass our scientific research ship, especially in the vicinity of Ren'ai Jiao, it means that the countdown to the settlement of the dispute between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea has begun.
(Wrecked ship on Second Thomas Reef)
It can be seen from the sailing route of the "Shen Kuo" that the current marine scientific research mission was carried out around the Bass Strait, Luzon Island, and the eastern and western coasts of the Philippines. The "Shen Kuo" scientific research ship is called the "abyss geek" because this scientific research ship mainly investigates the underwater environment and other content. This scientific research ship is not only equipped with a manned deep-sea submersible, but also a variety of deep-diving probes, which can achieve fine detection of seabed information such as seabed topography and seabed direction, and the scientific research of these deep-sea terrain mapping, seabed, and continental shelf location will undoubtedly provide the most basic scientific research information for the underwater route of the mainland submarine and the island reclamation, which is very important.
(The manned submersible on board the "Shen Kuo")
As for why the Philippines is so concerned about China's civilian research ships, the reason is nothing more than being a thief. Since Marcos Jr. came to power, the Philippines has repeatedly been ready to attack Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao, but each attempt to force its way into these islands and reefs has been successfully intercepted by the Chinese coast guard. This also puts the beached Philippine warship on Ren'ai Jiao in jeopardy, and the Philippines naturally knows that its provocations will inevitably be countered by China, such as China's direct towing of the dilapidated ship on Ren'ai Jiao.
(Data map: China's large tugboat.) Using it to tow a beach warship is a bit of a chicken with a knife)
Therefore, the Philippines is on high alert for all Chinese ships that appear near Second Thomas Shoal, fearing that something big may happen. However, it has to be said that if China really wants to deal with the pile of steel garbage on Ren'ai Jiao, there is no need to use scientific research ships at all, and China only needs to cut off the passage for the Philippines to deliver daily necessities to Ren'ai Jiao, and it will only take a few days, and those Filipinos on Ren'ai Jiao will naturally beg China to let them go. By exercising such restraint, China has done its utmost to the Philippines.