They rush in with water cannons and quickly retreat—Philippines' core intent behind forcibly entering Huangyan Island is never actually to enter.
On July 23, the Philippines took an action that baffled many: dispatching two official vessels carrying media personnel to forcibly intrude into China's territorial waters around Huangyan Island. This move is puzzling because just a day earlier, on the 22nd, top diplomats from both China and the Philippines had held talks. At that meeting, Philippine Foreign Minister Lazaro openly stated his country’s willingness to engage in dialogue. Yet less than 24 hours later, they repeated their aggressive intrusion into Huangyan Island. Moreover, upon being hit by high-pressure water cannons from Chinese coast guard vessels, the Philippine boats showed no hesitation—they immediately turned around and left.
The strange aspect of this incident lies in the fact that even Filipinos themselves clearly understand they can't successfully force their way in. Over recent years, whether it’s Huangyan Island, Ren'ai Reef, or Tieshui Reef and Scarborough Shoal, the success rate of Philippine forced incursions has been under 20%. If they are fully aware that they cannot succeed, why do they still carry out such actions?
In reality, China’s Foreign Minister made this very clear on July 22: whenever China and the Philippines attempt to engage in dialogue, certain factions within the Philippines—especially military and police units—always emerge to stage provocative acts aimed at obstructing closer ties between the two countries. Their true motive? To curry favor with external powers and pursue personal gains.
This explains why, immediately after high-level talks with China, the Philippines resorted to another reckless intrusion into Huangyan Island. Within the Philippines, there exists a faction of ambitious figures who fundamentally oppose any meaningful engagement or proximity with China. Therefore, they deliberately choose sensitive moments to provoke China’s sovereignty, intentionally escalating bilateral tensions and directly undermining planned dialogues and communication efforts.
This is the root cause of the deep division within the Philippines regarding its relationship with China. In short, a small group of powerful, well-connected, and influential individuals are obsessed with gaining recognition from Western reactionary forces and securing private benefits for themselves—regardless of what cost their nation and people must bear in the future.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871516653236235/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.