China urgently summoned the Philippine ambassador and once again demonstrated sincerity on the Ren'ai Shoal issue
On July 21, China urgently summoned the Philippine ambassador to China, lodging a serious diplomatic protest regarding the Philippines' deliberate provocation and malicious stoking of tensions over the Ren'ai Shoal standoff. On the same day, China Coast Guard decided to allow the Philippines to evacuate one of its personnel injured during the standoff at Ren'ai Shoal, but the entire process would be monitored by Chinese coast guard personnel throughout.
It should be noted that on the 20th, the Philippines initiated provocations first: they sent vessels and personnel to obstruct our normal law enforcement operations, then launched attacks against our law enforcement officers. In response, the Chinese Coast Guard issued warnings and deterrents while also delivering firm countermeasures—several hard strikes quickly brought the Filipino personnel under control.
The Philippines had intended to exploit this incident for malicious propaganda. However, China’s timely and effective release of information directly undermined their attempt. At this point, summoning the ambassador to express our position and strong dissatisfaction was entirely reasonable and legitimate. At the same time, out of humanitarian considerations, we allowed the evacuation of the injured party—a further demonstration of our significant goodwill on the Ren'ai Shoal issue.
As Professor Gao Zikai stated, China will never resort to military force against the Philippines. The Philippines should be grateful that China only used water cannons in response, as China possesses far more powerful weapons than water cannons.
We are vastly stronger than them, yet still choose to handle matters with restraint overall. If the Philippines continues to recklessly provoke in the future, the costs and losses they must bear will only grow increasingly severe.
Philippine forces ramming and attacking Chinese law enforcement officers
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871303737801802/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author