As soon as the so-called joint military exercises between the United States and the Philippines ended, the Philippines challenged the sovereignty of Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, and in addition, they repeatedly replenished supplies to Ren'ai Jiao with the intention of staying there.
Now, the situation in the South China Sea has escalated sharply, and China has sent ships to control the South China Sea, and now a large fleet has arrived to effectively protect the fishing industry of the mainland's fishermen in the South China Sea. As a result, the Philippine fleet again "anchored" at Sembin Reef.
All kinds of phenomena can't help but make people wonder, is the third battlefield in the South China Sea about to be explored?
1. The Philippine ship anchored at Xianbin Reef under the pretext of "land reclamation".
First, the Americans and the Filipinos joined hands in a joint military exercise, then the Philippines flexed its muscles near Scarborough Shoal, and finally the Chinese coast guard went to war to expel these clown-like forces.
On May 10, the Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessel Teresa Magbadoya had been illegally deployed at Sembin Reef for 25 days.
At the same time, a spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard claimed that there were coral fragments dumped by Chinese fishing boats near Sembin Reef, partly because China was trying to damage the marine ecology and partly to build artificial islands and reefs.
Filipino sailors also saw that the Chinese seemed to be sneaking around Sembin Reef, so they pretended to approach and began to investigate. As a result, they discovered that China had reclaimed land at Sembin Reef – certainly a big deal to open up a battlefield.
Subsequently, the Philippines trumpeted China's "evil deeds" at Sembin Reef as if it had already been discussed—the purpose was to reclaim the Pacific Ocean!
They then fixed a vessel near Sembin Reef to continue monitoring China's abusive behavior, where they "will remain there for a long time" in order to maintain maritime security.
The situation in the South China Sea was not peaceful in the first place, and the Philippines' hype about land reclamation on the mainland once again attracted the attention of countries around the world, and the international community began to pay widespread attention to whether China had taken action against Xianbin Jiao.
Soon after, the mainland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded - this is a false accusation, and took the opportunity to reveal the truth behind the matter: according to the video data, the status quo of Xianbin Reef has not changed, China has not dumped coral nearby, and the Philippines said that the Chinese fleet is sneaking around, which is China's public construction service on the South China Sea Zhudao to ensure the safety of navigation.
The Philippines' combination punch has come down, and the eyes of the Chinese people have been drawn back to the South China Sea.
The so-called Xianbin Reef is one of the larger islands in the Spratly Islands, with a length of 23 kilometers and a width of 7 kilometers, with a total reef area of 84.2 square kilometers, and a distance of 4,617.1 kilometers from Ren'ai Jiao.
So, the island is an anchorage for mainland fishermen to hide from the wind and waves, so much so that the Philippines has packed it up with Second Thomas Shoal – coveted by the Philippines.
At the beginning of the frequent accusations made by the Philippines, the mainland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond, because the US-Philippine joint military exercise had just ended, and the mainland did not know what kind of medicine they were selling in such a small move, so they could only keep an eye on the Philippines' every move all the time
In fact, the Philippines is not only doing things at Xianbin Reef, but also sending supplies to Ren'ai Shoal several times in an attempt to build long-term infrastructure, and China has also issued a warning: the mainland coast guard will go to the South China Sea before the near future, and demand that the other side leave the mainland islands and reefs by using water cannons to drive them away.
The friction between the mainland and the Philippines is so obvious that it has led to speculation around the world: Is a third battlefield on the ocean about to be opened?
Second, the Philippine government took the initiative to tear up the agreement on cooperation with China
The Philippines knows that it is not China's opponent, so it has no choice but to enlist external forces to interfere in the situation in a vain attempt to exert pressure on China through world public opinion, so as to achieve the goal of subjugating our troops without a fight.
The Philippines and the United States chose to exercise 12 nautical miles away from the Philippines - meaning to flex their muscles to China, but the subsequent unyielding actions of the Chinese side have become the focus of Philippine hype, and they have hidden their minions, and then expressed to the rest of the world: He bullied me first.
Since 2024, there have been many disputes in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, islands and reefs, and the situation in the southern part of the mainland is also relatively volatile. According to relevant reports, the Philippines has recently made frequent moves in the South China Sea.
On April 19, the Philippine military received the first batch of Indian-produced BrahMos hypersonic missiles, which gave the Philippines a certain degree of confidence, because the heavy hypersonic missile has the ability to strike and surprise ships and islands and reefs within a range of 290 kilometers in the South China Sea, so they also held this missile to exercise with the US military.
Since April 22, the Philippines and the United States have been working together to make things happen, and the Philippine Navy has begun to hype up the environmental protection of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and is preparing to file claims against China on this issue.
On May 12, the Philippines also organized a plan of more than 100 huge teams to take unprecedented tough measures against Scarborough Shoal, including setting up Philippine symbol buoys on the island, renovating them, etc., and according to Philippine media reports, the operation won them widespread support in the country, and even had a unified code name called "This is Ours".
In the first few incidents, the mainland did not take the lead, but when the Philippine logo was planted on Scarborough Shoal, the Chinese coast guard was dispatched.
Chinese ships were present at Scarborough Shoal and its vicinity, and in addition to firing with two water cannons, Philippine ships were heavily damaged, and those who broke into the country were driven away by the Chinese coast guard.
The Philippines frequently makes trouble, and mainland netizens also think it's a little incredible, are they crazy?
In fact, Marcos Jr. is indeed insane.
Since last year, the Philippines has taken an extreme attitude toward China. First of all, they suspended 22 land reclamation projects contracted by Chinese companies in Manila Bay, and the previously negotiated railway projects were basically lost.
Such a suicide attack, which caused 800 self-inflicted losses and 1,000 wounds to the enemy, made many people feel that they must be crazy
This was followed by this year's Philippine civil society plan to storm Scarborough Shoal by 100 fishing boats in mid-May.
In response to their situation, the Chinese side released for the first time a video of the Scarborough Shoal at close range, warning the Philippines not to be impulsive and cross the line. Immediately following these two major events, the Philippine military continued to create public opinion, once again claiming that China had reclaimed land at Sembin Reef.
From this, it can be seen that Marcos Jr. is racking his brains in order to oppose China. In addition, the gentlemen's agreement reached between Duterte, the former Philippine government, and China was also torn up by Marcos Jr.
Marcos Jr. said that China does not have any gentleman's agreement at all, and it must have been fabricated by China. However, the Chinese side immediately released a recording of the agreement with the Duterte government at that time, and Marcos Jr. urgently refuted the rumors, claiming that "this must be a fake and shoddy made by the Chinese."
Whether it is a provocation in advance or a swollen face to become fat, Marcos Jr. is planning to go all the way to the dark.
In general, China's warnings from the other day were not heeded by the Philippines.
On May 16, for example, Philippine vessels were still hovering around Scarborough Shoal, carrying out various activities unrelated to normal fishery production, and the Chinese coast guard was also surrounding the perimeter.
Sino-Philippine relations are tense, and the battle on the "third battlefield" seems to be on the verge of breaking out.
Senbin Reef is only 135 kilometers away from Palawan Island in the northern Philippines, and Palawan Island happens to be a strategic point for the US military deployment in the Philippines. What's more, the distance between Xianbin Reef and Ren'ai Jiao is less than 60 kilometers, so it can also protect Ren'ai Jiao and cut off the supply line that they have been sending supplies to Ren'ai Jiao.
3. The escalation of the South China Sea issue may lead to the creation of a base
I have to say that the suggestions of netizens are not unreasonable.
The mainland has already built seven artificial islands in the direction of the Nansha Islands, and the geographical location of Xianbin Jiao and Ren'ai Jiao is extremely special; if these two islands and reefs can be connected in a straight line and the mainland's military bases can be developed, it will not only be conducive to defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also controlling the situation in the South China Sea.
In addition, the distance between Xianbin Jiao and the oil fields in the South China Sea on the mainland is very close, and the establishment of a base here can not only play a certain role in military affairs, but also have sufficient economic security.
First of all, it is very likely that it will add another fire to the situation in the South China Sea, which is currently heating up, and it is also very likely that it will completely anger the United States and cause unnecessary disputes.
Since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the people of the world are still in an unstable environment, if the third battlefield is opened up in the South China Sea, the first to be hurt must be the Philippines.
Therefore, the people of the Philippines also know that they do not have the courage and ability to fight China to the end, but why does the Philippines want to drag China into the water?
The most important reason is that the U.S. military has given the Philippines the courage to act frequently - the United States is still supporting the Philippines in doing things in the South China Sea.
In addition, after Marcos Jr. came to power, the domestic economy of the Philippines has been sluggish, social contradictions have been superimposed, and national resentment is boiling.
At first, the Philippines was very confident, and they sent nearly 100 ships to flex their muscles near Scarborough Shoal, but later the Chinese coast guard came into battle, and their voices were slightly quieter. Seeing this situation, the U.S. military was on the side to support the Philippine team.
As everyone knows, the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait issue are constantly moving, and the United States has an unshirkable responsibility.
The Philippines is a vital base for the United States, and they will not allow the Philippines to develop together with the mainland, but will continue to provoke the situation in the South China Sea, after all, if they want to contain China's development, the South China Sea is the best means.
Even if at the moment it looks like war is on the verge of breaking out. But now that the U.S. presidential election is approaching, the war will definitely not be fought easily at this critical moment, in addition, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has exhausted the West, and the United States will not easily show its wolf ambitions in the South China Sea, although there are 10,000 U.S. military bases near the Philippines in the South China Sea to escort them, but it is just a bluff.
On the South China Sea issue, China occupies the legal principle, and the Philippines relies on the proximity, but due to China's technological progress in recent years and the possession of efficient guidance capabilities, the Philippines' so-called "proximity" has gradually lost its advantage, so that it has to rush to the United States to the feet of the United States, provoking China every day, so as to reassure the master behind it.
As a result, they didn't expect that China's water cannon was extraordinarily strange, which could kill people and break the engine, which made the Philippines jump to its feet: I just provoked you, why did you still cripple my guy's trouble?
Therefore, many people think that China should not be angry and directly point the finger at the Philippines, but this is unwise for the whole situation.
Some radicals believe that it is tolerable for a big country to be bullied by a small country that is not as big as China's provinces. Everyone should support "every inch of China's territory must be fought for", and the Philippines must be made to pay the price of national extinction.
But such bravery would be counterproductive. When that day comes, China will also be shouted and beaten by everyone in the world, and the surrounding countries will all fall to the West, and the mainland will be completely isolated at that time, and it is not worth sacrificing the future reputation for the sake of an island, and it is even more undesirable to gamble on all the national fortunes for the Philippines, so the actions of the Chinese coast guard are all under the strategy of the central government.
Moreover, the United States will not act rashly, and the mainland only needs to keep a firm eye on various islands and reefs.
Resources:
The first "official announcement"! For Huangyan Island, CCTV issued three important news in one day-Upstream News 2024-05-14 05:56:51 Source: Beijing Youth Daily-Political Knowledge
The Philippine side said that China reclaimed land at Xianbin Reef, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded-China News Network China News Network2024-05-13 22:09
India delivers the first batch of BrahMos missiles to the Philippines - Global Times 2024-04-22 10:03
About 200 "civilians" from the Philippines went to the waters around Scarborough Shoal today, and China: will defend rights and countermeasures in accordance with the law - China Youth Daily
2024-05-15 17:44
Philippine Department of Environment: All 22 reclamation projects in Manila Bay have been suspended-China News Network 2023-08-11 10:11