After 60 days of food and grain cuts, China and the Philippines reached the latest agreement, and the strange thing is that the two sides are uncharacteristically secretive about the contents. Recently, China has united all parties and said that the South China Sea issue is a foregone conclusion, but when it comes to supplies, the Philippines still wants to go back on its word.
"Beached" broken boats
A few days ago, China and the Philippines reached a memorandum of understanding on the issue of the supply of illegal "beached" warships at Ren'ai Jiao. The Philippine side said that this is based on the common understanding between China and the Philippines, and both sides believe that the current tensions in the South China Sea should be eased. Judging from the Philippine side's statement, it seems that it has shown an abnormal attitude of "seeking peace" in relation to Ren'ai Jiao.
But as the saying goes, when things go wrong, there must be demons, and this is obviously not the consistent style of the Marcos administration. Sure enough, the day after the announcement of the memorandum of understanding, a spokesman for the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said that the Philippine side will continue to strengthen the Philippine position in the waters of Ren'ai Jiao and safeguard its so-called "rights and jurisdiction". The Philippine side will not inform China in advance of the supply mission, and will continue to proceed in accordance with the Philippine side's deployment.
Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita · Daza
Previously, out of humanitarian considerations, China allowed the Philippines to deliver food, water, and other necessities to the beached warship, but it was not allowed to transport construction materials to reinforce the ship. The Philippine side still needs to notify the Chinese side before implementing the subsidy, and the Chinese side can only carry out the subsidy. China's attitude has been very humane, but the Philippine side is obviously not satisfied.
In fact, the agreement signed by China and the Philippines is only a temporary arrangement between the two sides, but with the current thinking of the Philippine side, this agreement will not be implemented. When it comes to sovereignty, China will not "turn a blind eye", and the Philippines will not easily give up the "big fish" of Ren'ai Jiao. Therefore, whether this agreement between China and the Philippines can be implemented for a long time is still a question mark.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos
From the Philippine side's point of view, the supply of the broken ship has been interrupted for about 60 days, and the Philippine personnel on the broken ship are facing a huge mental and physical test when they are without food for two months. If the Philippines does not reach an agreement with China, then China will continue to defend the sea. Under this kind of high-pressure control, the Philippine side has come up with a variety of methods, and even opened up a number of routes for illegal transportation and replenishment, but all of them have been unsuccessful.
The U.S. side has been throwing an "olive branch" to the Philippine side, saying that it can help in this regard, but the Marcos administration has also made it very clear that if United States is involved in the transportation and subsidy, it will be tantamount to making a small matter a big one. After the escalation of Sino-Philippine contradictions, the United States quickly withdrew from the "Roosevelt" and did not have the slightest intention of supporting the Philippine side.
China Coast Guard vessel
In the case of the MoU, the Philippines has to negotiate with China on the South China Sea issue, which is in fact a disguised recognition of China's jurisdiction over the relevant waters. China will "not fight an unprepared war" in the future, and China's "big net" on Ren'ai Jiao will be tightened step by step.
It is worth emphasizing that both sides are now keeping the specific content of the agreement secret, and there must still be considerable differences, but the existence of differences does not mean that there is room for negotiation. As a matter of China's sovereignty, for the China Coast Guard and the People's Liberation Army, any attempt to encroach on national territory will be dealt a crushing blow.