The United States extends its "black hand" to the South China Sea again, and the Ren'ai Reef controversy resurfaces in the South China Sea | Philippines | United States
On August 5th, Jonathan Malaya, Assistant Director General of the Philippine National Security Council, announced that the Philippines plans to launch a so-called "joint patrol operation in the South China Sea" with the United States by the end of this year; On the same day, with the support of the United States, the Philippines sent two ships into the waters of Ren'ai Reef in the the Nansha Islands without authorization, despite China's repeated dissuasions and warnings, in an attempt to deliver building materials for maintenance and reinforcement to illegal "beach sitting" warships. Chinese coast guard ships were lawfully intercepted and water cannons were used to provide warnings. The spokesperson of the Philippine Coast Guard announced on the 8th that they will not abandon the delivery of supplies to the "Sitan" warship. Behind this series of events, there is a shadow of the United States. Although the United States is a country outside the South China Sea, it insists on causing trouble in the South China Sea for its own selfish interests, which has become the biggest disruptive factor for China and ASEAN countries to jointly maintain stability in the South China Sea.
The US and Philippines have long been able to stir up the situation in the South China Sea through Ren'ai Reef
The intervention of the United States in the unauthorized intrusion of Philippine ships into Ren'ai Reef is far more than just issuing statements and firing verbal cannons. According to information disclosed by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, for a period of time, the United States has encouraged and supported the Philippines to repair and reinforce the "sitting beach" warship on Ren'ai Reef, and even sent military aircraft and ships to cooperate and support the Philippines at sea, and has often threatened China by fulfilling the US Philippines Joint Defense Treaty.
The US and the Philippines have long been able to use the Ren'ai Reef issue to reignite the South China Sea situation. Last June, after taking office, Philippine President Marcos stated that the Philippines would continue to pursue an independent foreign policy, but the United States continued to use its means to bring the Philippine government back onto a "pro American" track. The South China Sea issue and military cooperation were the two major "levers" of US interference. Since US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Manila in August last year, high-level interaction between the United States and the Philippines has obviously heated up: in November the same year, U.S. Vice President Harris visited the Philippines to reaffirm the "security commitment" of the United States to the Philippines; In February of this year, US Defense Minister Austin visited US military personnel stationed in the Philippine military camp. After a series of preludes, in early May of this year, Marcos visited the United States as the first Philippine President to visit the White House in 10 years and met with US President Biden. The talks between the two sides mentioned the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait issues, and Marcos also emphasized the importance of the United States as the "only treaty ally of the Philippines".
Almost at the same time, the Philippine side began to launch illegal provocations around Ren'ai Reef. According to the news released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on April 23, two Philippine coast guard ships entered the waters of Ren'ai Reef without Chinese permission, deliberately taking provocative actions and approaching the Chinese coast guard ship. Chinese coast guard ships shall take timely measures in accordance with the law to avoid dangerous approaches from Philippine ships and prevent collision accidents. At that time, China had already urged the Philippines to stop taking actions that led to the complexity of the situation. Subsequently, the Philippine patrol ship trespassed on Ren'ai Reef on May 10th and June 30th respectively, citing the transportation of supplies, and was intercepted by a Chinese coast guard ship.
The timeline for the resurgence of the Ren'ai Reef issue is almost synchronous with the series of military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines. In February of this year, the Philippine Ministry of Defense agreed to open up four more military bases to the US military, bringing the total number of military bases that the US military can use in the Philippines to nine. In early April, before Marcos' visit to the United States, the Philippines officially announced the specific locations of the four military bases mentioned above.Philippine Defense Minister Galvez declared that the location of these bases is "very strategic". Currently, out of the 9 bases used by the US military in the Philippines, 6 are directly facing the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea. On April 11th, the United States and the Philippines launched an 18 day "shoulder to shoulder" joint military exercise in Manila, with more than 17000 military personnel participating. The exercise was the largest in history and added exercises on network defense and live fire at sea, with a clear focus on maritime situations. In June, the United States, Japan, and the Philippines held their first joint military exercise. In July, on the occasion of the 7th anniversary of the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" being hyped up by the Philippines, the initiator of the "South China Sea arbitration case" by the United States immediately expressed support, revealing the evil intentions of stirring up friction and confrontation between the Philippines and China.
The United States not only continues to strengthen military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, but also gathers individual allies, continues to hype up the South China Sea issue, vigorously promotes maritime affairs, and attacks China's legitimate and legitimate maritime rights protection and law enforcement actions. After the US State Department recently unjustly accused China of the Ren'ai Reef issue, countries such as the UK, Australia, and Canada quickly followed suit.
Analysts have pointed out that the United States wants to turn its "plan" of using potential conflict points in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait to surround China into a military demand from the Philippines for the United States. As a result, it continuously encourages the Philippines to launch provocations under the pretext of repairing and strengthening the Ren'ai Reef "sitting on the beach" warship. However, it should be reminded that based on the Philippine ship's unauthorized intrusion into Ren'ai Reef on August 5th, it is unlikely that the United States will actually take practical action to support the Philippines. On August 7th, US Department of Defense News Secretary Reid stated that the United States "stands with its Philippine allies" but has no "additional" plans to assist the Philippines.
The Philippines' attempt to seize Ren'ai Reef has no basis
Ren'ai Reef is part of the the Nansha Islands in China. The historical longitude and latitude of the Ren'ai Reef issue are very clear. China's position on the Ren'ai Reef issue has been consistent and firm. However, after the incident of Philippine vessels trespassing on Ren'ai Reef, both the Philippines and the United States have resorted to international law concepts such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the so-called "South China Sea Arbitration Case" to criticize China. The South China Sea Arbitration Case is a political farce manipulated by the United States under the guise of law. Its so-called ruling violates international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and is illegal and invalid. China has never recognized or accepted it. In addition, the United States has not yet ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea due to its unwillingness to assume relevant obligations, but using this law as a pretext is completely a double standard.
More importantly, from the perspective of international law, the Philippines' claim of sovereignty over Ren'ai Reef has no legal basis. In history, the Philippines has long been colonized by Western countries, including Spain and the United States. In 1946, the Philippines declared independence against the backdrop of the United States granting autonomy and recognizing its independence, and began to qualify as a subject of international law as a country. Previously, neither Spain nor the United States, as the suzerain of the Philippines, included the Ren'ai Reef in its territory, nor raised any objection to China's sovereignty over the the Nansha Islands, including the Ren'ai Reef. Therefore, the Ren'ai Reef does not belong to the inherent territory of the Philippines.
The reason why the United States, which has a clear understanding of the historical ownership of Ren'ai Reef, repeatedly encourages and supports the Philippines to propose "sovereignty" over it is simply to use the South China Sea issue as a card to contain China, stir up muddy waters in the South China Sea, provoke regional conflicts and confrontations, and seek justification for accelerating the acquisition of allies and advancing the so-called "Indo Pacific strategy" to encircle China.
The Philippines should be aware that the the Nansha Islands, including Ren'ai Reef, have been Chinese territory since ancient times, not "unowned land". Relevant records can be examined. The unilateral hype and provocative actions of the Philippines have no international legal effect and are completely self deception. If the Philippines insists on being used as a gun by the United States, blindly hyping up the maritime dispute with China, and even allowing it to interfere with the development of China Philippines relations, it will not only reap the consequences but also endanger regional peace and security.
China's multi-level and multi-channel negotiations with the Philippines
After the Ren'ai Reef incident, China has lawfully safeguarded its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, with a clear and firm attitude and stance. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Chinese Coast Guard, and Chinese Embassy in the Philippines have made solemn representations to the Philippines through multiple levels and channels, and have also clearly explained the historical context of the Ren'ai Reef issue.
On May 9, 1999, the day after the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia was bombed by NATO, the Philippine Navy's landing ship "Madre Mountain" illegally "docked" at Ren'ai Reef on the grounds of "technical malfunction grounding". The Chinese side immediately made solemn representations and requested the Philippine side to tow the warship. The Philippine side has repeatedly promised to tow the warship, but has not fulfilled its promise until today. For a period of time, the Philippines has repeatedly taken unilateral provocations, attempting to carry out large-scale maintenance and reinforcement of the "Zuotan" warship, attempting to change the "status quo" of Ren'ai Reef, achieve permanent occupation of it, and touch the Chinese "red line". According to the news released by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on August 8th, the Philippine side, disregarding China's repeated dissuasion and warnings, insisted on transporting construction materials for repair and reinforcement to Ren'ai Reef, which is precisely the cause of this situation. In this situation, the Chinese side has to make necessary responses.
It is worth noting that China has always been committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea, and has repeatedly reiterated that China and the Philippines are separated by water and are important neighbors that will never be moved away. Since the beginning of this year, China has successively proposed multiple maritime initiatives to the Philippines, including controlling the situation on Ren'ai Reef, and is waiting for feedback from the Philippines. China is also willing to continue to properly handle maritime issues with the Philippines through dialogue and consultation. I hope that the Philippines and China can move towards each other, initiate negotiations on relevant initiatives as soon as possible, and jointly maintain stability in the maritime situation. At the same time, China also emphasizes that the South China Sea is not a "hunting ground" for countries outside the region to sow discord and sow discord, let alone a "arena" for major powers to compete. China firmly opposes any words or actions that create tension or provoke confrontation in the South China Sea, and urges the United States to truly respect China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the South China Sea, as well as the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.
