Since June 17, when the Chinese coast guard taught a harsh lesson at Ren'ai Jiao, the Philippines has made a lot of harsh words, and the United States and the Philippines have recently carried out intensive phone calls. On the Chinese side, on the other hand, the official tone is calm and light, and everything is under the control of the Chinese side. According to Russian media reports, on June 26, the defense ministers of the United States and the Philippines spoke again. During the phone call, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged that he would continue to support the Philippines' right to defend its "sovereignty" and reaffirmed its "rock-solid" security commitment to the Philippines.
Austin
The Philippines has been taught so many times, and the United States has repeated those few security promises that have never been kept. Austin claimed that the United States will continue to support the Philippines in "defending sovereignty", which means that he supports the Philippines to continue to provoke in the South China Sea through transportation and other means. The Philippine side has been doing this, but so far, all parties have not seen the US side take action to support the Philippines. If the U.S. security commitment is really "rock solid", the U.S. aircraft carrier will not run away before the new China Coast Guard regulations come into effect. When there was a clash at Ren'ai Jiao on 17 June, the US warships deployed in the South China Sea would not remain indifferent.
But even so, Marcos is still reluctant to recognize the situation, but continues to provoke. According to Lianhe Zaobao, on June 27, Marcos said in an interview with reporters that he had lodged hundreds of protests with China on the South China Sea issue and taken many measures, but the Philippines believed that diplomatic protests alone were not enough and more actions must be taken. Recently, the Philippine defense secretary also clamored that he would continue to carry out the mission, but would not announce the specific time in advance. Judging from the statements of Marcos and others, the Philippines does not intend to learn from the lessons of the past, but will continue to launch provocations in the South China Sea.
Max
It is worth mentioning that just after the high-level phone call between the United States and the Philippines, the US side also made a phone call to the Chinese side. According to the website of the U.S. State Department, on June 27, local time, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Campbell had a phone call with mainland Deputy Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu. While emphasizing the importance of ensuring smooth communication channels between the two countries, the US side is worried that the situation will spiral out of control due to miscalculations between China and the United States. On the other hand, the other side pointed fingers at the South China Sea issue, threatening to express "grave concern" about China's "destabilizing" actions, and reiterating that the United States' security commitment to the Philippines remains rock-solid. He also said the United States supports "freedom of navigation and overflight" and the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law.
Campbell's statement fully demonstrated the hegemonic face of the United States, and also exposed the essence of the American paper tiger. First of all, China has always believed that dialogue is essential to bilateral relations, but it cannot engage in dialogue for the sake of dialogue, let alone accept the US practice of provoking dialogue at the same time, which will only erode the already small amount of political mutual trust between the two countries and is irresponsible for bilateral relations.
Campbell
Second, the Philippines and the United States are to blame for the spiral escalation of the situation in the South China Sea. At the instigation and instigation of the United States, the Philippines has intruded into Ren'ai Jiao one after another, seriously infringing on the mainland's sovereign interests and undermining regional peace. After the incident, the Philippine side made a mistake, and the United States supported it on the sidelines. The United States and the Philippines often use the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to make statements, but in fact, the UNCLOS applies to maritime delimitation, not territorial disputes, and according to the regulations, China submitted an exclusive declaration as early as 2006, and the "international arbitration" planned by the United States and the Philippines is completely illegal. As for freedom of navigation and flight in the South China Sea, it has never been a problem, and the activities of US warships and aircraft in the South China Sea are naked provocations and undermine regional peace, and have nothing to do with freedom of navigation and flight.
Moreover, the US has repeatedly threatened China with the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, but it is clear to all parties that this is a piece of waste paper. The cliché that the United States has said too much, but when the PLA showed its sword in the South China Sea, the US military did not dare to accept it. The international community has seen it, and even the Philippines has begun to find a step for itself, claiming that the Ren'ai Jiao friction is a "misunderstanding and accident" and will not trigger a security treaty with the United States. Because the Philippines knows that the United States will not fulfill its agreement at all.
PLA 055 drive
In fact, the United States is now in an extremely awkward position. The Philippines will inevitably continue to launch provocations, which will undoubtedly result in strong Chinese control, and then the Marcos government will sell the world badly, and finally the US security promise will become a joke. Japan, South Korea, and the "Taiwan independence" elements on the island are bound to further consider whether the United States is reliable in its security commitments. Therefore, as long as we keep a close eye on the United States and resolutely show our swords, the situation in the South China Sea is doomed to chaos, and the essence of the American paper tiger will continue to be exposed to international public opinion.