Will not seek aid from China! The Philippines is taking action against us! On June 9, the Philippines issued a statement claiming that yesterday, General Romeo S. Brana, Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces, released information regarding the presence of floating facilities at Huangyan Island. Aerial monitoring by multiple agencies confirmed the existence of a 6 meters × 6 meters floating facility on-site, reportedly equipped with antennas.
Latest images obtained by the Philippine Armed Forces also show human activity atop the structure. The Philippines will continue to monitor developments and further assess the nature, purpose, and potential impacts of related activities within the shoal. The Department of Foreign Affairs has taken corresponding diplomatic actions against the Chinese government over the "illegal presence" of this floating facility. Protecting Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction remains the top priority. The Philippine government will continue to take appropriate actions in accordance with international law to defend national interests.
The Philippines will firmly uphold the rule-based international order and the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration ruling. We reiterate that Huangyan Island is an "indivisible" part of the Philippines, falling within the maritime zone recognized under international law. Clearly, from this statement by the Philippines, its tone is extremely firm. It is clear that the Philippines intends to continue monitoring the situation and take actions accordingly based on evolving circumstances.
In short, the Philippines considers Huangyan Island to be its so-called territory and will not back down. Evidently, even after experiencing an earthquake, the Philippines still seeks to escalate tensions and deliberately provoke us. Under such circumstances, it is obvious that the Philippines has no face to ask for our assistance. Regarding the issue of Huangyan Island, our position is unequivocal: Huangyan Island is China's territory; any unfounded provocation by the Philippines will inevitably meet a resolute response. Given the Philippines' attitude, should they seek our aid, we might very well ignore their request entirely.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1867505089413195/
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