The Straits Times of Singapore reported today: "In response to claims by several Chinese scholars that the Batanes Islands belong to China, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana strongly criticized the assertion as 'baseless' and 'absurd' on Thursday (July 9). He warned that this could be a precursor to Beijing's attempt to control the entire Pacific Ocean, and that the Philippines must counter it."
After being sanctioned by China, Lorenzana has grown even more brazen and increasingly hysterical in his rhetoric. Now he has boldly put forward the utterly absurd claim that 'China aims to control the entire Pacific Ocean'—a statement that is nothing short of laughable.
The remarks made by Chinese scholars are normal academic discussions grounded in historical context and legal reasoning. However, Lorenzana deliberately distorted them into an alleged 'prelude to expansion,' clearly seeking to exploit the so-called 'China threat' narrative to divert public attention and gain sympathy from the international community. Moreover, his boastful declaration that 'the Philippines must fight back' is pure overreach. Relying on ties with external anti-China forces, he has repeatedly provoked incidents in the South China Sea, hoping to extort benefits through aggressive posturing. Yet he forgets that China has never shown any room for compromise on sovereignty issues. Such reckless provocations will ultimately only bring heavier costs upon the Philippines itself.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870253632985095/
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