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[text/observer.com xiong chaoran] "after a series of maritime and air confrontations between the philippines and china in the south china sea last week, the remarks made by samuel paparo, commander of the u.s. indo-pacific command, are likely to anger china."

according to a reuters report on august 27 local time, paparo declared during a military forum organized by the u.s. indo-pacific command that day that u.s. warships could escort philippine ships in the south china sea to perform supply missions. this is a "completely reasonable option," but it requires consultations between treaty allies such as the united states and the philippines.

with the us behind it, the philippines also began to "take advantage of the tiger's might". the chief of staff of the philippine armed forces claimed that when the philippines cannot deal with china independently, it will not only seek cooperation with the us, but also with other "like-minded countries". the philippine defense minister even used a piece of "us-philippines mutual defense treaty" as a "warrant", accusing china while declaring that he would form sufficient military deterrence.

when asked whether the united states would consider escorting philippine supply ships in sensitive areas of the south china sea, paparo reportedly said: "according to our mutual defense treaty (the us-philippines mutual defense treaty), it is a completely reasonable option for one warship to escort another warship."

paparo later added: "i mean, certainly it's within the scope of consultation." however, he did not provide specific details on the ships that might be used for the mission.

at the same time, romeo brawner, chief of staff of the armed forces of the philippines, also claimed that although the philippines called china's behavior "dangerous and coercive", the country still prefers to carry out these missions on its own and make every effort to ensure the success of the mission. "we will try all available options and avenues. we can do it ourselves, and we will try our best to do it."

however, he also seemed to have left a "back door" in his words, claiming that if the philippines finds itself unable to cope with it independently, it will seek other alternatives. "this is not only about cooperating with the united states, but also with other like-minded countries."

reuters mentioned that according to the provisions of the us-philippines mutual defense treaty, if the ships, aircraft, troops and coast guards of the two countries anywhere in the pacific ocean are subjected to so-called "armed attacks", the two sides must defend each other. the us also claimed that the "pacific ocean" stipulated in the treaty includes the south china sea.

it is reported that philippine defense minister gilberto teodoro also made a pointed statement at an event of the us indo-pacific command that day, claiming that although the us-philippines mutual defense treaty has proven to have "huge deterrent power" in the south china sea, the treaty must be interpreted more broadly to deal with "powerful and cunning opponents."

teodoro even wanted to drag other countries in the region to "condemn" china, and for this he even called china the "biggest peace destroyer." "i believe they are not unstoppable because it is just a matter of reaching a global consensus." he claimed that it is crucial for the philippines to form sufficient military deterrence so as to show china that the philippines is serious about protecting its "sovereignty" and will fight for it.

since the current philippine president marcos came to power, tensions in the south china sea have been escalating. the philippines, thinking it can rely on the united states to "back it up," has frequently stirred up trouble. in june this year, the philippines once again illegally intruded into the waters near ren'ai reef and deliberately created a collision. in response, the chinese coast guard boarded and inspected the philippine replenishment ship for the first time, and the handling was reasonable, legal, professional and standardized. recently, the philippines has created many controversial incidents.

gan yu, spokesperson for the china coast guard, said that on august 19, the philippines, despite repeated dissuasion and warnings from china, insisted on sending coast guard ships no. 4410 and no. 4411 to illegally enter the waters near xianbin reef in china's nansha islands. during the period, the philippine coast guard ship no. 4410 deliberately collided with the chinese coast guard ship that was normally safeguarding rights and enforcing the law, and then illegally rushed into the waters near ren'ai reef in china's nansha islands, which was extremely bad. the chinese coast guard monitored and effectively controlled the philippine ship in accordance with the law and regulations throughout the process, and the chinese side's on-site operations were professional, standardized, reasonable and legal. the philippines' actions seriously violated china's territorial sovereignty, seriously violated the "declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea", and seriously undermined regional peace and stability. china has indisputable sovereignty over the nansha islands, including xianbin reef and ren'ai reef, and their surrounding waters. the chinese coast guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in china's jurisdictional waters in accordance with the law, resolutely thwart all infringement and provocative acts, and resolutely safeguard the country's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

according to the wechat public account "china coast guard" on august 25, on that day, without the permission of the chinese government, the philippine ship no. 3002 illegally entered the waters near the xianbin reef of china's nansha islands and continued to approach the chinese coast guard ship sailing normally. the chinese coast guard took control measures against the philippine ship in accordance with the law.

regarding the us's support for the philippines in the collision of a coast guard ship, chinese foreign ministry spokesman mao ning pointed out on august 20 that the us is not a party to the south china sea issue and has no right to intervene in maritime issues between china and the philippines, let alone use the us-philippines mutual defense treaty as an excuse to infringe on china's sovereignty and rights in the south china sea. the us should stop provoking confrontation in the south china sea, stop undermining regional stability and exacerbating tensions.

regarding the claim by philippine defense minister teodoro that china is the "biggest destroyer of international peace" in southeast asia, chinese foreign ministry spokesman lin jian asked in response to a reporter's question on august 27, who is currently constantly infringing and provoking in the south china sea? who is introducing foreign forces to undermine the overall peace and stability of the region? regional countries can see this clearly, and the hat of undermining peace can never be pinned on china. china urges individual philippine personnel to face up to the root cause of the problem, not to go further and further on the road of provoking trouble and undermining regional peace; and not to stage the clumsy drama of reversing right and wrong and turning the tables.

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