The China Coast Guard announced on May 15 that the previously adopted Regulations on Administrative Enforcement Procedures for Coast Guard Agencies, which came into effect on June 15, include the arrest of illegal immigrants. The announcement issued by the Chinese coast guard has already triggered protests in the Philippines, what is the Philippines afraid of? In fact, the China Coast Guard's announcement to promote the arrest of illegal immigrants came on the same day that the Philippines used 100 ships to try to force their way into Scarborough Shoal. Philippine media reported that on May 15, a Philippine non-governmental organization mobilized five mother ships and 100 small ships to rush to the waters near Scarborough Shoal, thus starting a new round of provocative activities.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos has publicly responded to the new actions of the Chinese coast guard, declaring that Philippine security is unacceptable. In fact, when Marcos attended the 2024 graduation ceremony of the Philippine Military Academy, he had publicly threatened, Marcos declared that the Philippines would strongly defend Philippine territory. Since February 2023, the Philippines' attitude towards China has undergone a 180-degree shift, with the Philippines openly hyping up the South China Sea issue, frequently incurring on Ren'ai Jiao, and later gradually launching provocations at Scarborough Shoal. The Philippines has publicly supported the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy, and has spoken out against China on the South China Sea issue.
China has taken a holistic approach to promoting the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, while the Philippines has taken the initiative to provoke and is trying to work with Vietnam to promote a new code of conduct. The economic cooperation between China and ASEAN is very close, and it is very important to maintain regional peace and stability, and when dealing with relations with the Philippines, China has shown the greatest goodwill, and the Chinese coast guard has only prevented the Philippines from supplying illegal construction materials under the pretext of running a landing ship to occupy Ren'ai Jiao for a long time, and has not stopped the replacement of Filipino personnel. In addition, China has allowed Filipino fishermen to fish near several of China's islands and reefs, thus demonstrating China's great-power demeanor.
However, the Philippines is now determined to provoke China, and it can be seen from the hundreds of ships organized by the Philippines to try to forcibly invade Scarborough Shoal that the Philippines is open-minded and does not consider the relationship between the Philippines and China at all, but resolutely defends the interests of the United States. The United States wants to use the Philippine provocation in the South China Sea to try to prevent China's rise, and now the United States has nine military bases in the Philippines, and under the pretext of joint military exercises, it has deployed land-based intermediate-range missiles in the Philippines, which is an important move for the United States to continue to deter China.
The Philippines has felt weak about the announcement issued by the Chinese Coast Guard, because according to the Chinese Coast Guard's "Regulations on Administrative Law Enforcement Procedures for Coast Guard Agencies", the Philippine Navy's presence at China's Ren'ai Jiao, as well as the Philippine Coast Guard's forcible intrusion into the waters near the islands and reefs, and the fishing of Philippine fishermen on the islands and reefs are all illegal entries. The China Coast Guard's push for enforcement of the relevant regulations can create a new deterrent to the Philippines and further safeguard the integrity of its territory and sovereignty.