The Chinese Communist Party and the PLA Navy have been testing the nerve of the Philippines for a while now. The CCP for a long time has been confident that it can do whatever it wants and the Philippines will not look to escalate the situation, given Beijing’s confidence in the inaptness of Duterte. However, Duterte may or may not be a China hater but the Filipino Defence Minister hates China to the core.
As tensions between the two countries rise over Beijing’s territorial claims in the seas, the Philippines’ Defense Minister accused China of preparing to occupy more “features” in the disputed South China Sea on April 4. China has asserted its claim to almost all of the South China Sea, a resource-rich area, by converting many small shoals and reefs into military bases with airstrips and other port facilities. Philippines Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana slammed China’s “complete disregard” for international law on Sunday.
The utter disregard by the Chinese Embassy in Manila of international law specially the UNCLOS to which China is a party is appalling. The Philippines’ claims stand on solid ground, while China’s do not. China should respect Philippine sovereignty, and its rights over EEZ. pic.twitter.com/CITCcj9bOS
— Delfin Lorenzana (@del_lorenzana) April 4, 2021
On April 1, the Philippines announced the discovery of “illegally constructed structures on features” in the Union Banks, a group of reefs in the South China Sea. The structures were discovered near where Manila had previously discovered a flotilla of Chinese fishing vessels allegedly manned by militias and recently gathered. According to news reports, the Philippine military said on Thursday that the structures were discovered during maritime patrols on March 30. It did not, however, specify the exact location of the structures or include any additional information on who was responsible for their construction in the South China Sea.
Earlier, Jay Tarriela, a lieutenant commander in the Philippine coastguard, said that the mass of ships which are China’s militia in the guise of a fleet of fishing boats near Whitsun Reef could become “Scarborough Shoal 2.0” – a disputed territory that China seized control of in 2012. And since then, the CCP has been using the same operational tactic to take over territories of its ASEAN neighbours in the South China Sea.
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Duterte waited for the bonanza from China that he expected to come as a result of his decision to give marching orders to US forces stationed in the Philippines. He’s still on the lookout and all he has received is the PRC encroaching on the former US ally’s territorial waters. While Duterte may have a habit of making all the wrong decisions, the Filipino Defence Minister has his priorities straight and he hates China to the core.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said the swarming of Julian Felipe showed China’s intent to occupy other maritime features within the West Philippine Sea. His demand that they all leave was included in the first protest against the vessels’ presence. And since then, the country’s largest chamber of commerce and other business groups on Wednesday joined calls on China to withdraw its maritime militia vessels from the West Philippine Sea and to stop acting like the colonizers that once subjugated the Chinese nation.
The Philippine’s people are not happy and the Defence Minister of the country is doing justice by providing the resentment with an outlet by voicing his anger. Although it cannot be predicted what will happen to go ahead, one thing is for sure, in the face of constant bullying, Duterte needs to abandon his appease China policy.