After several rounds of negotiations to no avail, China and the Philippines have launched a series of maritime games around the South China Sea issue. Especially after the Marcos administration openly denied the "gentlemen's agreement", the relationship between China and the Philippines became extremely delicate. And just when the Philippines was preparing for a new round of provocations, our coast guard force took decisive action. According to the news released by CCTV News Yuyuan Tantian on the 13th, China's coast guard force successfully organized and carried out a sea life-saving training in the waters of Huangyan Island a few days ago. During this period, a number of Chinese fishing vessels carried out fishing operations in the waters, and the presence of coast guard law enforcement vessels effectively guaranteed the personal safety of mainland fishermen during their daily operations. At the same time, this move also caused unease in the United States.
According to Philippine media on the 13th, former U.S. Defense Commissioner Colin Powell was quoted as saying that China sent a large maritime team to "blockade the area" before Philippine civil society organizations rushed to Scarborough Shoal. Powell claimed that China dispatched at least four coast guard vessels and 26 so-called "maritime militia vessels" this time, which will be the largest "blockade operation" in the waters of Scarborough Shoal so far, indicating that China has made up its mind to implement its sovereignty claim over Scarborough Shoal.
When the United States is concerned about the situation at Scarborough Shoal, the Philippines, as the party concerned, is naturally not to be outdone. In an interview with the media, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard threatened to safeguard the safety and freedom of navigation of Philippine NGO vessels in the event of the presence of Chinese vessels at Scarborough Shoal. Previously, on May 9, Philippine media revealed that China was trying to carry out "small-scale land reclamation" on Xianbin Reef, and the Philippine Coast Guard said that it would go to the site of the incident with scientists to verify and analyze, and was committed to "maintaining a long-term presence" in this water. In this regard, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin made it clear at a regular press conference on the 13th, pointing out that the relevant accusations of the Philippines are pure rumors.
Obviously, this is a reflexive response by the Philippines after seeing China's coast guard force start to act, and in order to increase its own "rationality", the Philippine side also tried to use international law as a talisman. However, the fact is that the Philippines' claim to Scarborough Shoal is based on a violation of international law. The Philippines first asserted sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal on the grounds that "Scarborough Shoal is relatively close to the Philippines."
When this lame reason was exposed, they claimed sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal on the grounds that "Scarborough Shoal is located in the exclusive economic zone of the Philippine Sea". Even if this kind of rogue act is repeated a thousand times, it is impossible to change the basic fact that Scarborough Shoal is China's inherent territory. In particular, when the Philippines itself takes the initiative to give up and resolve its differences through diplomatic dialogue and consultation, any act of coveting China's territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea will be countered.
At present, not only China's coast guard is stepping up its patrols of the Nansha Islands, but also China's naval fleet is always keeping a close eye on every move of the United States and the Philippines. Previously, during the "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint naval exercise organized by the United States and the Philippines, our military conducted close surveillance. There are also foreign media reports that the Chinese and US militaries have staged an aerial confrontation during military exercises, although these news have not been further confirmed, but this also proves from the side that even if it is as strong as the United States, it cannot rely on its military hegemony to do anything wrong in the South China Sea. At the same time, we should also note that the Marcos administration is using the South China Sea issue between China and the Philippines to tie up domestic political issues, in a vain attempt to shape a hardline personality against China by challenging China's sovereignty, and inciting domestic populism to suppress dissent.
This dangerous linkage has not only received strong support from the United States and its allies, but has also provided an outlet for pro-American forces in the Philippines. Fortunately, it is not only China that has noticed this sensitive trend, but many major ASEAN countries have expressed their willingness to resolve the South China Sea issue through dialogue. The Philippines will eventually realize that it is not China that is being isolated by ASEAN, but by themselves.