During this period, the United States has been hyping up the issue of the South China Sea. On the 19th, US State Department spokesperson Price issued a statement, publicly declaring that "the United States supports the Philippines on the South China Sea issue." He claimed that the increasing number of Chinese fishing boats in the Nansha Islands has seriously affected the livelihood of Philippine fishermen. He accused China of ignoring the "sovereignty claims" of other countries in the South China Sea.
Then Bloomberg also started to speculate, reporting that an unnamed US official revealed that China is building several uninhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea. They showed satellite photos showing a Chinese ship unloading an amphibious hydraulic excavator. Over the past year, new land has emerged from the water at the site, where satellite images showed large holes, debris and excavator tracks, where previously only part of the water surfaced at high tide.
China also responded immediately to the US provocation. Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also responded at the press conference that the relevant news released by the US media was "purely fabricated." At present, China-Philippines relations have a good momentum of development and the two sides will continue to properly handle maritime issues through friendly consultations.
The United States is completely afraid of chaos in the world and has recently continued to cause trouble in and around the South China Sea. In late November, US Vice President Harris not only visited the Philippines, but also boarded Palawan Island near the South China Sea and visited the Philippine Coast Guard there. The US Navy destroyer also broke into the Nansha Islands to provoke China.
However, the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs ignored China's warning and pointed the finger at China, saying that the Philippine government was "seriously concerned" about China's land reclamation in the South China Sea, because China's actions in the "disputed waters" of the South China Sea violated the agreement reached between China and ASEAN countries, and violated the so-called "South China Sea Arbitration Award" in 2016.
At the same time, the Philippine Ministry of Defense also announced that because China is conducting military activities near the disputed Thitu Island, the Philippine military has ordered the country's military to strengthen its military presence in relevant waters to defend the country's "territory" and urge China to maintain regional order and avoid actions that aggravate tensions.
Is the Philippines going to break up with China? The Philippines has just announced that Marcos will visit China early next year, and the Philippine Ministry of Defense has begun to challenge China's bottom line. It is obvious that this incident was carefully planned by the United States. In other words, by taking advantage of Marcos' new appointment, the United States hopes that the Philippines will change the "pro-China" policy it pursued during Duterte's term.
From the perspective of the United States, Marcos seems to be more flexible than Duterte, so they see this as an opportunity. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the United States' frequent provocations is to push the Philippines to the forefront of confrontation with China, rather than for the interests of the Philippines.
The time for Marcos' visit to China is getting closer and closer, but the Philippines cannot hold back at the instigation of countries outside the region. It seems that some Western countries and forces within the Philippines do not want to see peace and tranquility in the South China Sea. In fact, in recent months, the Philippines has been trying to put pressure on China on the South China Sea issue. On the 16th, the Philippine Congress passed a resolution stating that it opposed China's "intimidation" behavior of "seizing" rocket fragments controlled by the Philippine Navy in the South China Sea in November.
After the Philippine Congress made its decision, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation for the resolution and supported the Congress in clearly stating its views on the South China Sea. The matter has been over for some time, but Philippine politicians are still hyping up the matter. It is very likely that the United States has attracted and supported the Philippines and supported some pro-American politicians. Although the Marcos administration has stated that it wants to cooperate with us, it has become increasingly tough on the South China Sea issue. This is neither a solution attitude nor a solution. It also indicates that the Philippines seems to be deviating from Duterte's pragmatic line and returning to the old pro-American path.
However, this time the Philippines strengthens its military presence in the "disputed waters", it is completely provoking China. If a conflict breaks out between China and the Philippines, the United States will definitely not get involved in the conflict, but will reap the benefits. This will fall into the trap designed by the United States. Therefore, the Philippine government is advised not to insist on going its own way and create obstacles to the relationship between China and Southeast Asian countries.
Regarding the Philippines' move, although we maintain our utmost sincerity in cooperation for the time being, it is also time to formulate corresponding plans and prepare for the worst case scenario so that the Philippines can recognize the reality and be in awe.
