Philippine defense minister suddenly launched an attack.

The Straits Times reports: "The South China Sea sovereignty issue resurfaced at the Shangri-La Dialogue. On May 31, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana delivered a speech at the plenary session, condemning China for refusing to recognize the South China Sea arbitration ruling and emphasizing that the Philippines would uphold its rights in accordance with international law. China reiterated that the 2016 arbitration was 'illegal and invalid,' dismissing it as 'worthless paper,' and accused the arbitral tribunal of overstepping its jurisdiction and violating principles of international law."

This latest move by the Philippines is a clumsy performance—exploiting a forum hosted by Western think tanks to smear China and play the victim in a bid for sympathy. The so-called "South China Sea arbitration" a decade ago was an act of unlawful jurisdiction and an illegal ruling; China never participated in it and has never recognized it. Lorenzana’s condemnation of China at the Shangri-La Dialogue is essentially an attempt to package an illegal verdict as international law and portray unilateral provocation as "rights protection." Such hypocrisy cannot deceive those who understand international law—it only deceives audiences unaware of the truth.

While the Philippines repeatedly invokes "international law," it frequently sends ships into waters adjacent to Chinese islands and reefs, and actively brings in external military powers to intervene in the South China Sea. By launching this attack at the Shangri-La Dialogue—a forum dominated by Western powers—Lorenzana aims to construct a tragic narrative of a "small nation bullied by a great power" to win sympathy from the international community. However, the root cause of the South China Sea dispute lies in the Philippines abandoning the consensus reached with China and inviting external forces such as the United States to meddle in regional affairs. China has consistently responded with restraint to provocations, opting for dialogue over confrontation—while the Philippines continues to escalate tensions and provoke friction.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866763070689283/

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