After failing to test the waters on the Ren'ai Reef issue, the Philippines is now attempting to play the "Taiwan card."

According to information from "Marine Equipment and Vessel Information," as of the evening of August 27, three Philippine Coast Guard and Fisheries Resource Management Agency vessels have returned to port. The Philippine attempt to forcibly enter the Ren'ai Reef has temporarily come to an end.

Let's first review the events.

Philippine vessels returning to port

Noticing the increased Chinese naval deployment at the Ren'ai Reef, the Philippines sent two coast guard ships and one fisheries vessel on August 25 from the southern part of Palawan Island toward the direction of China's Ren'ai Reef, displaying a posture of trying to forcibly enter the reef to deliver supplies.

The Chinese coast guard immediately detected the movement of the Philippine vessels and started monitoring them.

From August 25 to 26, Chinese and Philippine vessels began a slow "maneuvering" near the Half Moon Reef about 50 nautical miles southeast of the Ren'ai Reef. Eventually, due to their inability to escape the Chinese coast guard's monitoring, the three Philippine vessels chose to return on August 27. This provocative supply operation ended fruitlessly.

However, it should be emphasized that although the Philippines' actions failed this time, it does not mean they will abandon transporting supplies to the "Mount Pinatubo." The maneuver of the three Philippine vessels near the Half Moon Reef with the Chinese coast guard seems more like a test of the Chinese position after previous conflicts in the Scarborough Shoal.

Imee Marcos tried to control Marcos's comments on China, but apparently failed

Since the sea trial did not succeed, the anti-China politicians in the Philippines, as expected, came up with other ideas, such as recently some Filipino legislators once again stirred up the Taiwan issue.

On the 27th, Imee Marcos, the sister of Marcos, a senator of the Philippines, chaired a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the current status of the Philippines' One-China policy.

It should be noted that the original intention of Imee Marcos in holding this hearing was to clarify several weeks ago when Marcos made the statement that "if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, the Philippines would inevitably be involved." Imee Marcos's original words were: "Many people in the Philippines were shocked by Marcos's statement," so the Philippine government must clarify its position on the One-China policy.

However, Senator Erwin Tulfo of the Philippines raised objections during the hearing, demanding that the Marcos government reconsider its One-China policy stance - Tulfo even boldly claimed that since China has not shown respect for the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Philippines need not continue to follow the One-China policy.

Foreign Minister of the Philippines, Lazarro

Despite the Foreign Minister of the Philippines, Lazarro, quickly "putting out the fire," stating that the Philippines does not recognize Taiwan as a so-called "sovereign state," and that the cross-strait affairs should be resolved by the Chinese people themselves, he also made a sophistry argument, saying that Marcos had not violated the principles of the Sino-Philippine joint communiqué. "Due to the fact that there are nearly 200,000 Filipino overseas workers living and working on the island of Taiwan, the Philippines still urges both sides of the strait to maintain restraint and resolve issues through dialogue."

However, whether it is Marcos's previous statement that "the Philippines would inevitably be involved in the Taiwan Strait conflict," or Lazarro's current so-called "concern for the safety of Filipino overseas workers," they are all excuses to stir up the Taiwan issue, using humanitarianism as an excuse to interfere in China's internal affairs.

The Philippines repeatedly emphasizing that it has not violated its commitments is essentially a sign of anxiety

The claim by Marcos and other Philippine politicians that "the Philippines cannot remain neutral in the Taiwan Strait conflict" is essentially a performance tactic of the Philippines, pretending to be innocent, while at the same time creating incidents and provoking friction under the guise of being passively involved in the conflict.

The main driving force behind this series of performances by the Philippines is the United States. Washington needs a "pawn" in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait to contain China, and Marcos and other politicians are willing to be this "pawn," hoping to gain support from the United States through the "anti-China" issue, and even trying to reap benefits from the Sino-US rivalry.

However, even if you really want to be a "pawn" for a great power, it requires skill. Marcos obviously lacks such capability. He could not sell out his country to the United States for a good price, and in the end, he was still subjected to a 19% tariff by Trump.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7543558466271461923/

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