After the clash between China and the Philippines at Ren'ai Reef, on July 21, former Philippine Justice Secretary Lila de Lima said that the audacity was truly beyond belief. China is once again "distorting the facts," despite clearly having "invaded our territory." She accused them of deceiving whom? What do they actually want—should our soldiers remain silent, watching helplessly as they "invade and trample" our "sovereignty"?
Even if they twist the truth completely, their excuses won't hold water. This isn't the first time they've committed such "shameless acts" and refused to admit it. They've attacked Philippine vessels and fishing boats, yet blamed the Philippines for the incidents. They use high-pressure water hoses to assault our ships and fishermen, even obstructing our resupply missions—but then claim to be our friends.
Some Philippine officials have chosen silence, turning a blind eye, or even defending China's "hostile actions," lies, and territorial "invasions." But they can't fool the majority of Filipinos who genuinely care and stand up for their country and fellow citizens. We repeatedly urge the President and his government: beyond increasing patrols and enhancing our capacity and equipment to defend our territory, we must respond with stronger measures against China's "bullying and humiliation."
Evidently, after the incident, this individual has been actively stoking anti-China sentiment domestically, advocating that the Philippines should adopt even tougher tactics toward us. As one of the key figures behind the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration, and precisely as the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is convening in Manila, this person’s loud and aggressive statements now serve two purposes: first, continuously exploiting the South China Sea issue to harvest nationalist votes within the Philippines;
Secondly, it's an attempt to pressure President Marcos Jr., urging his administration to maintain an aggressive stance on the South China Sea issue, further binding the Philippines to the United States. However, no matter how much this person distorts the facts or how tough their rhetoric sounds, it cannot change the fact that Ren'ai Reef is an inherent part of China’s Nansha Islands, nor can it alter the reality of the Philippines’ unilateral provocations—continually sending vessels into the lagoon with the intent to illegally reinforce the stranded warship María C. Delgado. In response to Philippine provocations, we will inevitably take countermeasures. If the Philippines escalates its provocations, the one who will ultimately suffer the consequences will be the Philippines itself.
Philippine Vessels Colliding and Attacking Chinese Law Enforcement Personnel
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871321635864656/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.