Did the Foreign Minister talk? Three days after the Ren'ai Reef incident, the Philippines dares to intrude into Huangyan Island again
On July 23, China's Coast Guard released a statement saying that the Philippines dispatched two government vessels, No. 3012 and No. 3018, ignoring repeated warnings and entreaties from China, and resolutely entered China's jurisdictional waters around Huangyan Island.
It should be noted that just three days earlier, on the 20th, a clash had occurred between Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels at Ren'ai Reef. Now, only three days have passed, and they are already provoking again—this behavior is truly reckless.
And just one day before the Philippines forcibly entered Huangyan Island, on the 22nd, China and the Philippines' foreign ministers had just held talks—talks initiated by the Philippine side. In light of this, does it mean that the recent high-level talks between the two foreign ministers were completely ineffective?
In my view, the so-called proactive gestures and supposed goodwill that the Philippines is currently showing toward China are likely nothing more than smoke screens or mere showmanship. In actual actions, they never relax for even a moment—especially in their persistent provocations against China, particularly their forcible incursions into our Huangyan Island.
Under such circumstances, China must abandon all unrealistic illusions. For a country like the Philippines, which has fully aligned itself with the United States and is determined to confront China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea, we can only respond with consistent, firm countermeasures. Do not expect your opponent to suddenly change course, nor hope that an ambitious player will become suddenly docile—such things simply do not exist in reality.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1871478214294601/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.