Preface
Our side conducted a six-day exercise in the South China Sea, and the Philippine army was silent for six days.
But as soon as the exercise ended, the Philippine defense secretary jumped out and openly said that China was a "bully."
Coincidentally, just as the Philippine side was talking wildly, several destroyer formations in China's southern theater mysteriously left Hong Kong and disappeared from public view.
In the South China Sea, the military alliance between the United States and the Philippines has intensified, with two aircraft carrier battle groups operating at home and abroad.
So how did we respond to the various provocations of the Philippine side?
China declared sovereignty and drove away Philippine ships
On June 15, the China Coast Guard's new law enforcement regulations came into effect, authorizing the coast guard to detain foreigners who illegally trespass into China's territorial waters.
As expected, as soon as the new rules came out, the Philippines, which always likes to do things in the South China Sea, began to sabotage.
On the same day, the Philippines actually dispatched a supply ship to openly and forcibly intrude into China's Ren'ai Jiao waters in the South China Sea.
This is not the first time that the Philippine side has been so arrogant.
As early as May this year, they repeatedly dispatched ships to illegally approach Second Thomas Shoal, and were directly driven away by Chinese coast guard water cannons.
Obviously, the introduction of the new regulations has put the Philippines under great pressure, fearing that its illegal "beaching" on Ren'ai Jiao will be expelled, so on the eve of the new regulations taking effect, it is desperate to force it again.
On the same day, the Philippines also applied to the relevant UN agencies to expand its exclusive economic zone to 350 nautical miles, in an attempt to include the entire Nansha Islands in the Philippines' "territory."
In the face of such arrogant and domineering behavior of the Philippine side, China has no choice but to respond strongly.
The confidence of the Philippine side to do so undoubtedly comes from the "support" of the United States and Western countries.
At the same time that the Philippines forcibly entered Ren'ai Jiao, the United States and other Western G7 countries had just concluded their summit.
This meeting is very interesting, simply trying to impose a series of unequal "sanctions" and "false accusations" on China.
First of all, it "framed" China and asked China to stop its aid to Russia, which is really a reversal of black and white.
China has never interfered in the internal affairs of other countries, and has always been a position of peaceful diplomacy, but they do not reflect on the various bills of the United States and NATO to help Ukraine, as well as the desire to freeze Russian assets and divert them to Ukraine.
It's ridiculous to beat a rake backwards.
Looking at the attitude of Western countries and the United States towards China, the Philippines hastened to "stand in line".
In the face of such blatant provocations by the Philippines, the Chinese coast guard has shown its resolute and forceful side.
According to the report, the Chinese Coast Guard first issued a warning and stopped the Philippine supply ship that illegally entered Second Thomas Shoal, and then directly boarded and inspected it, and finally forcibly drove it away.
Before being driven away by the Chinese Coast Guard, the Philippine ship's automatic identification signal was interrupted for 24 hours.
Some analysts believe that the Chinese coast guard may have directly seized the ship for a period of time.
If this speculation is true, it will once again underscore the strength of China's new rules on controlling islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
In the post-incident briefing, the China Coast Guard also made it clear that the reason for boarding and inspecting and driving away the Philippine ship was to show that the sovereignty of Ren'ai Jiao and its surrounding waters completely belongs to China, and that any foreign vessel trespassing without permission will be severely punished.
This undoubtedly reaffirms to the world China's territorial sovereignty over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
It is not difficult to see that China will not let the Philippines go unchecked in response to its provocative actions in the South China Sea.
In recent years, the Philippines has repeatedly taken provocative actions in order to gain improper benefits in the South China Sea, and China will never tolerate it.
As China's comprehensive national strength continues to grow, so does its determination and ability to defend its rights and interests in the South China Sea.
China will resolutely retaliate against any wanton provocateur and will never be relentless.
Under the harsh response of the Chinese coast guard, the Philippine side reacted unexpectedly silent this time.
The new maritime regulations were implemented, and the Philippine provocation failed
Normally, whenever there is friction between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Philippines will take the opportunity to make a big fuss, play the role of a victim in the international community, and try to use the sympathy of Western countries to exert pressure on China.
But this time, not only did the Philippine military not make any news comments, but even the Philippine defense secretary, who has always liked to shout on social media, only lightly said that "no specific details of the incident will be released."
This abnormal reaction actually reflects the inner embarrassment of the Philippine side.
The reason is very simple, the supply ship dispatched by the Philippine military is actually part of the military, and as a result, it was so heavily boarded and inspected by the Chinese coast guard, which is a slap in the face and a loss of face for the Philippine army, which is accustomed to running rampant in the South China Sea.
While the Philippine side is silent, China's military deployment in the South China Sea is undoubtedly the biggest deterrent to the Philippine side.
Satellite surveillance shows that China's latest 075 amphibious assault ship is in the waters near Subi Reef, and near Xianbin Reef, China's 071 landing ship has also appeared in the area.
In addition to amphibious warships, China has dispatched more than 100 maritime forces in the waters around the South China Sea, the most striking of which is that the Southern Theater Company dispatched four ships, three of the advanced 055 destroyers, and one 052C missile destroyer to form a fleet formation to hold a six-day and five-night actual combat training in a certain area of the South China Sea.
This arrangement is undoubtedly a stern warning from China to the Philippines and its supporters.
In fact, at the same time as the Chinese Coast Guard's appearance of the Philippine military supply ship, the so-called "support" of the United States for the Philippines was exposed.
Previously, the US aircraft carrier USS Roosevelt, which had been operating in and around the South China Sea, hurriedly sailed out of the area after learning that China's new coast guard regulations had come into effect.
Despite the temporary withdrawal, the United States has not stopped its attempts to intervene in the South China Sea.
At the same time that the new regulations of the Chinese Coast Guard came into effect, the US military actually allowed two aircraft carrier battle groups to hold military exercises in the waters of the east and west flanks of the Philippines at the same time.
Among them, the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier group operated in the waters north of Scarborough Shoal along with French and Canadian warships; The USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier group conducted exercises in the waters south of the Philippines.
The range of activity of the two aircraft carrier battle groups directly sandwiched the Philippines in the middle, and the formation was quite formidable.
By arranging this arrangement, the US is undoubtedly supporting and encouraging the Philippines on the South China Sea issue.
Imagine if the Chinese Coast Guard really drove away the Filipino personnel and ships on Ren'ai Jiao, the US military could intervene under the pretext of saying that it wanted to support its "allies".
The Philippine defense secretary has reneged on his own commitments and the consensus between China and the Philippines by calling China a "bully" and slandering China as an existential threat in the South China Sea.
But it is clear that the wishful thinking of the United States did not stop there.
In the face of the threat of military exercises by the US military, China has adopted a-for-tat deployment.
In the eastern part of the South China Sea, the Chinese Navy dispatched four advanced 055 destroyer formations, three of which suddenly disappeared from public view, and then appeared in a certain area of the South China Sea and joined up with a 052C missile destroyer to form a powerful formation.
At the same time, in the western part of the South China Sea, the China Coast Guard is also stepping up patrol law enforcement in the waters of Xianbin Reef and Ren'ai Reef.
After several days of hard work, the coast guard has basically cut off the supply lines of the Philippine "beached" fleet, directly stifling their idea of staying illegally for a long time.
The unreasonable behavior of the Philippine side will be blocked
The Philippines is crazy and aggressive this time, and all kinds of mysterious operations are puzzling.
However, after analyzing the essence, it is not difficult for us to see that the behavior of the Philippine authorities is really too "stupid".
Looking back at the arrogant remarks made by President Marcos and Secretary of Defense Teodoro, it is not difficult to see that they are echoing each other and cooperating with each other in order to create an atmosphere of war crisis, in an attempt to make the Filipino people hate China, and create a so-called "public opinion base" for future friction with China.
But behind this, it is nothing more than the United States wants to accelerate the "Indo-Pacific strategy" and set up a "troublemaker" for China in the South China Sea.
However, the Philippines' demagogic approach and hatred for China are doomed to be difficult to succeed.
This is because China maintains peace and stability in the South China Sea not only out of its own core interests, but also for the peace and prosperity of the entire Southeast Asian region and the Asia-Pacific region.
In fact, with the exception of the Philippines, a close ally of the United States, the rest of ASEAN has largely leaned toward China's position on the South China Sea.
They realized that once military confrontation and conflict break out in the South China Sea, it will seriously threaten the regional economy, which is already showing a recovery trend, and will also bring huge hidden dangers to the shipping security of countries along the route.
Therefore, ASEAN countries generally hope to resolve the South China Sea issue through the "dual-track" approach advocated by China: that is, on sovereignty disputes, they insist on resolving them through negotiation and consultation; In other areas, practical cooperation has been strengthened, especially in the areas of maritime security and freedom of navigation.
Only by maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea can the region continue to thrive.
Moreover, the United States has abandoned the Philippines many times in history, so the various behaviors of the Philippine authorities have only become "pawns" of the United States, and if fierce contradictions really break out, it is unknown whether the United States will support the Philippines.
In the face of the U.S. military struggle in the South China Sea, China has to make necessary countermeasures and responses.
However, China's fundamental purpose has always been to safeguard regional peace and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, including China.
China has sufficient determination and wisdom, and we believe that with China's unremitting efforts, the long-lost and permanent peace in the South China Sea will be restored.
Information sources:
2024-06-18Shangguan News: Is the Philippines' unilateral submission of the South China Sea a law or illegal?
2024-06-14China.com News "USS Roosevelt Aircraft Carrier Leaves South China Sea to End Longest South China Sea Deployment"
2024-06-12Shangguan News: 6 days and 5 nights! The Navy conducts long-endurance training across day and night
2024-06-17Red Star News: The Philippines unilaterally submitted a submission on the continental shelf in the South China Sea, and China speaks out!
2024-06-14The USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier leaves the South China Sea to end the longest deployment in the South China Sea
2024-06-13Sputnik: Philippine defense secretary called China a "bully" and an existential threat in the South China Sea