After the Philippines crossed the "red line", China drew a no-sail zone in the South China Sea and issued a strong warning signal. In the face of the Philippine provocative actions in the South China Sea, what kind of countermeasures has China taken? Why does the Marcos administration say that this time it has become a "big deal"?
After the first trilateral summit between the United States, Japan and the Philippines, the Philippine side has made more and more "small moves" in the waters of the South China Sea. On April 30, a Philippine coast guard ship and a government vessel illegally intruded into the waters near Scarborough Shoal without China's consent, adding another element of instability to the situation in the South China Sea.
Judging from the information we have learned so far, although the Chinese coast guard ship's move to drive away the Philippine ship with water cannons in accordance with regulations has given the Philippines and a number of Western countries a reason to "shell" China, and more than 20 countries have accused China of being "irresponsible", causing injuries to the Philippine crew and damage to the ship, but it has also made the Philippine coast guard senior management say the "truth", that is, the Philippine side has indeed crossed the red line on the issue of Scarborough Shoal.
A spokesman for the Philippine Coast Guard's West Philippine Sea said at a press conference on May 1 that Philippine government vessels had never entered the 12-nautical-mile waters of Scarborough Shoal during the previous administration, but the current administration had crossed the "red line" and violated the temporary special arrangements made by China eight years ago.
Judging from the above statements, the Philippine side has not covered up its "transgression" on the Scarborough Shoal issue, and even has the "support" of the United States, so it has nothing to fear. China's response to this is also quite direct, that is, to draw a no-sail zone in the South China Sea, and to warn the US-Philippine alliance that is "doing things" in these waters in the form of military training, and to advise the above-mentioned countries to "pull back from the precipice".
Judging from the information released on the website of the China Maritime Safety Administration, from May 3 to 5, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day, military training was carried out in some waters of the South China Sea, and it was forbidden to sail in. Considering that the no-sail ban is not far from the disputed waters of the South China Sea, it can be said that China's move is a "wake-up call" to the escalating US-Philippine military relationship.
Some analysts believe that whether it is the increasingly targeted "shoulder-to-shoulder" joint military exercises between the United States and the Philippines, or the actions of the US Department of Defense to "support" the Philippines and accuse China of law enforcement actions in accordance with regulations, they all reflect the sinister intentions of the two countries in vain trying to build the South China Sea into a front line of geopolitical conflict in order to contain China's development.
In particular, the United States, which is trying to build the Philippines into its own "proxy" in the South China Sea, has deepened US-Philippine military cooperation under the banner of supporting allies and freedom of navigation, making the Philippines an important pawn to contain China. After all, Manila has admitted that the four new US military bases added last year are aimed at creating opportunities for US allies to deal with China on the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait issues, and then help the Philippines gain an advantage in the dispute over islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
Judging from the current situation, although the Marcos government has made a big calculation, it is still difficult to put it into practice, because the majority of the Filipino people are not very optimistic about the military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, which has also led to the Marcos government's "big event" this time. According to foreign media sources, during May Day, rallies and marches broke out among Filipino people, demanding higher wages and demanding the withdrawal of US troops from the country. During the march, some people even toppled a statue of President Marcos and beat him to vent their frustration.
Considering that during the Duterte administration, Sino-Philippine relations have always remained relatively stable, and the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has also made great progress, bringing tangible benefits to the Filipino people; in fact, it is not difficult to understand why the Marcos administration, which adheres to the pro-US line, has aroused dissatisfaction among the Filipino masses. After all, once it gets involved in the confrontation between China and the United States and insists on taking sides with the United States, the Philippines may be involved in a geopolitical conflict, and at that time, it will only be the Philippines itself that suffers.