It's clear now! The United States, having run out of cards, is deliberately pulling out the so-called South China Sea arbitration card to pressure us! On July 13, according to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, in the 10th anniversary of the South China Sea arbitral case, the U.S. abandoned its past practice of issuing statements unilaterally and instead joined forces with 14 countries including the Philippines, Japan, and Australia to issue a joint statement reaffirming that the relevant ruling is final, legally binding, and decisive. Lianhe Zaobao cited scholars' views stating that the joint declaration by 14 nations aims to seize the opportunity of the 10th anniversary of the arbitration case, intending to continue exerting pressure on China through legal and public opinion strategies, with the ultimate goal of internationalizing the South China Sea issue.
Evidently, the core issue lies in the shift from the U.S. previously acting alone to now coordinating with over a dozen allies—what does this signify? It indicates that the U.S. Department of State has already conducted meticulous diplomatic preparations behind the scenes, assembling this multilateral joint declaration specifically to challenge us. From the perspective of Sino-U.S. relations, the U.S. currently has no strong cards left against China, thus clearly seeking to resurrect the cold case of the South China Sea arbitration and stir up renewed controversy.
The U.S.'s intention is crystal clear: if China wants regional stability, it should best make concessions at the negotiation table; otherwise, the U.S. will continue fomenting unrest behind the scenes. With the U.S. midterm elections approaching, Trump still hopes for our visit in September. What matters most to the U.S. is extracting as much as possible from us while making minimal substantive concessions—a classic American calculation. And precisely at this critical juncture, we launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and firmly declared that the South China Sea arbitration ruling is nothing but scrap paper.
Clearly, our red lines have been made unmistakably clear: first, the U.S. had better not recklessly gamble on resolving disputes through military means. Second, whatever China refuses, the U.S. absolutely cannot force upon us. Despite the U.S.'s aggressive posture, we are not only prepared to express our diplomatic stance but also ready to confront the U.S. in any way necessary in the South China Sea. In short, the U.S. will not gain any advantage—what it failed to achieve in 2016, it certainly cannot accomplish a decade later.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870558894553098/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.