All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
Relations between China and the Philippines have fluctuated dramatically, and on May 7, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines released a recording of the "Gentlemen's Agreement" between China and the Philippines, which depicts China's proposed "1+1" transportation and subsidy model.
Carlos, the commander of the Western Military Region of the Philippines, who participated in the negotiations at that time, expressed his approval and would implement the plan proposed by China and reach a "gentlemen's agreement."
However, they turned around and did not want to admit that they had reached an agreement with China, not only President Marcos himself, but also many high-level Philippine officials, and even threatened to "expel the Chinese embassy personnel".
So will the Philippines really expel the personnel of the mainland embassy? Why is the Philippines reluctant to recognize the agreement?
The Philippines refuses to fulfill the "gentlemen's agreement"
How did the "Gentlemen's Agreement" come about? In fact, the agreement is mainly aimed at Ren'ai Jiao, an uninhabited island in China's Spratly Islands.
Ren'ai Jiao is an integral part of China's Nansha Islands, and China has indisputable sovereignty over Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Jiao, as well as the surrounding waters.
With regard to Ren'ai Jiao, China, the Philippines and other ASEAN countries have signed the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which clearly stipulates that the uninhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea should be maintained as "unmanned and without facilities".
ASEAN countries such as China and the Philippines should abide by the treaty's rules and should not violate the rules of the treaty, but the Philippines has always had ambitions to occupy Ren'ai Jiao, and in 1999 they illegally "beached" the reef with the warship Sierra Madre.
Now, 25 years later, the Philippines has never towed the warship, and during this period, there have been frequent incidents to disturb the peace of the South China Sea, and on March 23 this year, the Philippines sent ships to transport construction materials to the illegal "beached" warship.
The construction materials transported by the Philippines are nothing more than the construction of buildings on the reef as a way to achieve a long-term encroachment on the reef, which has damaged relations between the two countries and increased tensions in the South China Sea.
In response to this situation, China has also actively engaged in dialogue and consultation with the Philippines to deal with the Ren'ai Jiao issue, and has proposed a "gentlemen's agreement", with which the Philippines agreed to sign a "gentlemen's agreement" from the end of 2021 to the beginning of this year.
However, after that, the Philippine side ignored the agreement and illegally transported building materials to Ren'ai Jiao, and then the Chinese side clarified the basic facts of the "gentlemen's agreement".
In a report published by the Philippine media "Manila Times" on the 8th, the title of the article was "Based on the recording of the dialogue, the commander of the Western Philippine Command agrees to China's "new model".
According to the report, Vice Admiral Carlos, commander of the Philippine Western Command in charge of South China Sea affairs, agreed to adopt a "new model" to handle the replenishment of Ren'ai Jiao in a phone call on January 3 this year.
The "new model" is actually the stipulations of the gentlemen's agreement, and the transcript also shows that Philippine Defense Secretary Teodoro, National Security Adviser Arnold, and Army Commander-in-Chief Brauner agreed to the agreement.
The Philippine spokesman believes that this material and the audio recording of the material are forged in order to deny and defend it, and what is unexpected is that the Philippine politician has even clamored for the "expulsion of Chinese diplomats".
Philippine politicians have made wild remarks
Philippine National Security Adviser Arnold called for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats in a May 10 speech.
Regarding this matter, at a regular press conference held by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the 10th, a reporter asked Philippine officials about the "expulsion of Chinese diplomats".
Regarding this incident, mainland Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said: The relevant statement of the Philippine side just proves that they are weak in the face of facts and evidence, and have reached the point of being angry and ruined and have no bottom line. China demands that the Philippine side earnestly ensure that Chinese diplomats perform their duties normally, stop violating rights and provocations, refrain from denying facts, refraining from reckless actions, and refraining from shooting themselves in the foot.
According to the Global Times on May 11, "the relevant statements of the Philippine side just prove that they are weak in the face of facts and evidence, and have reached the point of being angry and have no bottom line." ”
Today, the Philippines is still full of ambitions on the issue of sovereignty over Ren'ai Jiao, which has been China's territory since ancient times, and the mainland's activities in the South China Sea have a history of more than 2,000 years.
As early as the Xi'an period in the 2nd century BC, the Chinese sailed in the South China Sea and discovered the islands of the South China Sea, and during the Song Dynasty, in order to strengthen the coastal defense of the South China Sea, the imperial court established a local sea patrol division.
Fishermen generally call it "broken knots and broken knots", and in the Republic of China, they called it "Thomas Second Beach".
In 1947, the Republic of China called it "Renai Dark Sands", and in 1983 its name was changed to "Ren'ai Jiao", and since the 50s of the last century, the Philippines has tried to get involved in China's Nansha Islands.
In the 70s, the Philippines began to seize the Nansha islands by force, and after the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999, the Philippines began to do things again on Ren'ai Jiao, and they parked a dilapidated warship "Sierra Madre" on Ren'ai Jiao Island.
In this regard, China has also been negotiating with the Philippines, asking them to tow the warship away as soon as possible, but the reason they gave was that due to an accident, the warship broke down and needed to be repaired.
However, this repair is 25 years, and of course the mainland has the ability to tow this ship away, but we have always advocated harmony with our neighbors, and in order to maintain stability in the South China Sea, we hope that the Philippines will keep its promises.
It is truly disappointing that Philippine officials are refusing to admit the facts and clamoring for the "expulsion of the Chinese embassy", which will undoubtedly further damage the relationship between China and the Philippines.
In international interactions, the expulsion of an ambassador is often regarded as an extreme measure in diplomatic relations, which will not only cause harm to the relations between the two countries, but also have a knock-on effect on the economy, security, and diplomacy.
References
Global Times2004-05-10 "In the Face of Audio Recordings, Philippine Officials Continue to Qubble"
Global Times2024-05-11 "Philippine politicians clamored for the expulsion of Chinese diplomats, China: angry and ruined"
Beijing News, "Philippine Officials Vainly Claim to "Expelle Chinese Diplomats", Foreign Ministry Asks the Philippines to Stop Infringement and Provocation"
International News2024-04-29"International Commentary丨The Philippines that denies the "gentlemen's agreement" has no credibility