Philippines has now spoken out, with a very firm stance! Ignoring China's actions, the Philippines claims it will continue negotiations with Japan! On June 10, Philippine Foreign Minister Lázaro stated that the Philippines still plans to hold talks with Japan over maritime boundary issues. Some friends seem to have reacted to this, but we believe such delimitation negotiations with Japan must continue. Clearly, the Philippines' position is unambiguous: regardless of China’s attitude, the Philippines will not heed it and will proceed with the negotiations.
This statement from the Philippines clearly indicates its intent to advance its own timeline on maritime boundary issues. When the Philippines refers to “some friends seemingly reacting,” that naturally points to us. However, how Japan and the Philippines conduct their negotiations is their internal matter. But if these negotiations involve waters under our jurisdiction, we certainly will not stand idly by. In fact, given the current state of Sino-Japanese relations and Sino-Philippine relations, both countries indeed have motives to stir up trouble through such talks.
Therefore, what we must do is continuously monitor the negotiation developments closely, fully grasp all relevant progress, and simultaneously conduct regular law enforcement patrols and control in the relevant waters based on our existing maritime law enforcement capabilities. For us, these waters are tied to the Taiwan issue—we absolutely cannot yield, nor will we allow Japan and the Philippines any room to exploit. If Japan and the Philippines refuse to back down and this leads to conflict, the consequences must be entirely borne by Japan and the Philippines.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867628498860235/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.