All of the statements in this article are based on reliable sources and are reproduced at the end of this article
On May 15th and 16th, the Philippines gathered a number of ships to gather in the adjacent sea near Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, and on the 15th, more than 100 Philippine ships rushed to Scarborough Shoal in a vigorous manner.
Footage released by the China Coast Guard shows several Philippine octopus fishing boats playing the role of "mother boats" illegally gathering and taking photographs about 60 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal on the mainland.
However, when the Philippine fishing boat was still 50 nautical miles away from Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, it did not dare to move forward, because the mainland's maritime rights protection and law enforcement forces had been carrying out rights protection and law enforcement tasks in the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
Scarborough Shoal dispute
Scarborough Shoal is mainland territory, but the Philippines covets it, and since the Marcos Jr. administration came to power, it has continued to provoke the mainland in many waters of the South China Sea, and has also sold itself miserably in public opinion.
Since the beginning of this year, Philippine vessels have repeatedly illegally intruded into the waters adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao, and in May, the Philippines played a new trick in its "porcelain touching" behavior.
According to Philippine media reports, a non-governmental organization called "This is Our 'Philippines'" plans to gather a group of "local fishermen" to the waters around China's Scarborough Shoal in mid-May in an attempt to use the "fishermen" as a "meat shield" to push forward a new round of abuses in the South China Sea.
This non-governmental organization in the Philippines has strong political factors, and the reporter of the "Global Times" found that this so-called "non-governmental organization" is actually funded by US institutions all year round.
The group has often stirred up trouble in the South China Sea, and in December last year it organized a transport of supplies for Filipino military personnel who were "beached" at Ren'ai Jiao.
According to the Global Times, on May 15, the group's abusive activity was led by five aircraft carriers carrying members of the group, Filipino journalists and foreign observers, while more than 100 fishing boats were summoned to follow in formation.
On the morning of the 15th, the group gathered 200 people and went to Scarborough Shoal by waving Philippine flags and chanting slogans.
On May 16, a number of the group's vessels illegally assembled in the waters adjacent to Scarborough Shoal on the mainland and carried out activities unrelated to normal fishery operations, and when the vessels reached a position about 60 nautical miles east of Scarborough Shoal, they did not dare to move on.
China will not cede an inch of territory
On the day of the Philippine ship's departure, the Chinese coast guard deployed a number of defensive lines in the waters off Scarborough Shoal, and when the Philippine official ship "Bagakai" carried many Philippine fishing boats, they did not dare to move forward after seeing the Chinese coast guard ship.
On the morning of the 16th, the Philippine public boat retreated to the rear with the Philippine fishing boat, and the Philippine side originally wanted to use the tactics of crowds and make the Chinese coast guard go away, but the Filipinos still miscalculated.
Interestingly, on the eve of the Philippine activities, the US "Roosevelt" aircraft carrier strike group was circling around Scarborough Shoal, and when the Philippine ships set off, they ran away without stopping, perhaps they also understood that the Philippine fishing boats were no match for the Chinese Coast Guard.
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 15, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said:
Scarborough Shoal is China's inherent territory, and China has indisputable sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal and its adjacent waters. In 2016, China made goodwill arrangements for a small number of Philippine small fishing vessels to carry out normal fishing activities in the waters near Scarborough Shoal, and at the same time managed and supervised the relevant activities of Philippine fishermen in accordance with the law.
Scarborough Shoal has been China's inherent territory since ancient times, and the mainland has indisputable sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal and its surrounding waters, and the mainland has known about Scarborough Shoal as early as the Qin and Han dynasties more than 2,000 years ago.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the ancients began to sail in the South China Sea, and established the two counties of Zhuya and Dan'er, and officially incorporated the Nansha Islands into the Chinese territory.
Since the outbreak of the Opium War, China's territory has been divided by foreign powers, and in the 30s of the 20th century, Nanhai Zhudao was occupied by the Japanese and French, until the end of World War II, the territory of Nanhai Zhudao returned to the embrace of the motherland.
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the "Cairo Declaration" and the "Potsdam Proclamation," the mainland adopted a series of measures to declare to the world the sovereignty of Nanhai Zhudao, and in 1977 the mainland sent scientific research personnel to Huangyan Dao and carried out relevant scientific research and investigation work.
Since the 80s of the last century, the Philippines has launched provocations in a vain attempt to seize Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, and in the following decades, the Philippines has used a series of provocative acts in a vain attempt to occupy Scarborough Shoal.
In 2016, Duterte became the president of the Philippines, and the South China Sea issue was relatively eased, but with Duterte's resignation, the new Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. once again showed a tough attitude towards the mainland after taking office.
As a dominant party in all respects, the mainland has sufficient goodwill and patience towards the Philippines, and as early as 2016, China properly arranged for Philippine small fishing boats to carry out normal fishing activities in the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
However, the Philippines now wants to take advantage of our goodwill to better occupy Scarborough Shoal, and this kind of behavior is absolutely not allowed, and the mainland coast guard has recently launched a series of rights protection and law enforcement actions near Scarborough Shoal to maintain the order of production and life, fully protect the safety of fishermen's lives and property, and vigorously safeguard the safety of sea operations.
At a press conference on May 17, Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, warned the Philippine side not to act rashly and stop all acts of infringement and provocation. China's position is very clear, that is, it will accompany you to the end.
In terms of public opinion, we can also show the legal basis and relevant facts of China's sovereignty over islands and reefs in the South China Sea to the international community with greater vigour, and make our righteous voice heard through the media of developing countries and even developed countries to counter slander.
summary
We hope that the Philippine Government will be able to pull back from the precipice, stop all provocative acts, move in the same direction with China, and properly handle the relations between the two countries.
References
Global Network2024-05-17"China Coast Guard Powerful Deterrence! The farce of the Philippines' "storming Scarborough Shoal" ended and withdrew in disgrace"
Guangming.com2024-05-18"The Philippine side illegally gathered ships to rush into Scarborough Shoal, and China refused to give up an inch of land! 》
Global Times2024-05-17 "China Coast Guard Powerful Deterrence! The farce of the Philippines' "storming Scarborough Shoal" ended and withdrew in disgrace"
Strait Shinkansen "At your own risk! The Philippine "ship-sea tactics" hit Scarborough Shoal, but the U.S. military rushed to run away overnight"