us commander provoked, china expressed its position
2024-08-29
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the us commander claimed that he could "escort" philippine ships. china said that the us should not support or condone the philippines' infringement.
during a military forum held in manila, philippines on the 27th, the commander of the us indo-pacific command, paparo, claimed that us ships "can escort philippine ships carrying out supply missions in the south china sea" and called it a "completely reasonable choice". he made this statement in response to a question about whether washington would consider providing escort for philippine ships transporting supplies to the "disputed waters" of the south china sea. feeling "backed by someone", the chief of staff of the philippine armed forces, browner, said that when the philippines cannot deal with china independently, it will not only seek cooperation with the united states, but also with other "like-minded countries". philippine defense minister teodoro also claimed that "the scope of interpretation of the content of the philippine-us mutual defense treaty" should be expanded. since the current philippine president marcos came to power, he has frequently provoked trouble in the south china sea, thinking that he can rely on the united states to "support" him behind him.
experts interviewed by the global times on the 28th believe that although what paparo said is only a possibility, it is likely to intensify the conflict in the south china sea and lead to a sharp increase in the risk of conflict between china and the united states. the united states needs to carefully evaluate this issue and consider the possible consequences of its actions. wang yi, member of the political bureau of the cpc central committee and director of the central foreign affairs office, stressed in a new round of strategic communication with us president's national security advisor sullivan in beijing: "the united states must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine china's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and must not support and condone the philippines' infringements."
'could anger china'
"the remarks by u.s. indo-pacific command commander paparo, after a series of maritime and air confrontations between the philippines and china in the south china sea last week, may anger china." reuters said that when asked whether the u.s. military was considering escorting philippine ships delivering supplies to "disputed waters," paparo said: "all choices made between two sovereign states in common defense, including escorting each other's ships, are completely reasonable choices within the framework of our mutual defense treaty and within the framework of our close alliance." paparo later added: "of course, in the context of consultations." however, he did not disclose details of the possible mission.
regarding paparo's "suggestion", philippine armed forces chief of staff browner claimed at the same event: "the attitude of the philippine armed forces is that, in accordance with philippine law, we must first rely on ourselves. we will try all feasible options and avenues, and as long as we can do it ourselves, we will do it." but he added that if the philippines finds that it cannot do it alone, it will seek other options. "this is not only cooperation with the united states, but also cooperation with other like-minded countries."
cbs news said that, against the backdrop of increasing hostilities between beijing and manila in the disputed south china sea, paparo's words indicated that the us military was open to the possibility of escorting philippine supply ships in the south china sea. "these remarks give us a glimpse into the views of one of the highest military commanders outside the continental united states on future actions, namely the possibility of direct collisions between us navy ships and chinese navy ships." the report also said that browner responded cautiously to paparo's suggestion because it could violate philippine law. the philippine constitution prohibits foreign troops from directly participating in the country's military operations.
military expert zhang xuefeng said in an interview with the global times on the 28th that paparo only mentioned the possibility that "us warships can escort philippine ships to carry out supply missions in the south china sea", but there will be many problems in actual implementation. paparo claimed that he needed to consult with the philippines, which was actually leaving room for the us to maneuver. however, if the us really wants to escort philippine ships, it will not only intensify tensions between china and the us, but it may also "when elephants fight, the grass suffers", and the philippines will be involved.
"who introduced foreign forces to undermine regional peace and stability?"
in recent times, the philippines has frequently sent coast guard ships, official ships and other vessels to intrude into the waters near ren'ai reef and xianbin reef, repeatedly provoking trouble. the chinese coast guard has taken control measures on philippine ships in accordance with the law. the philippines' attempts to take advantage of the opportunity to provoke have failed again and again. philippine coast guard spokesman tarila said on the 27th that the philippine coast guard ship 9701, which is anchored at xianbin reef, is now undersupplied and has reached a "critical level" because the ships that were supposed to deliver supplies to it were blocked by chinese ships. tarila admitted that it was "really difficult" for the philippine coast guard to resupply ship 9701. however, he said, "as far as the philippine coast guard is concerned, we are developing different strategies to ensure that we can still provide basic supplies for our personnel."
the so-called "different strategy" of the philippines is to seek help from the united states. philippine defense minister teodoro said at a military forum jointly held by the united states and the philippines on the 27th that "the scope of interpretation of 'armed attack' in the philippine-us mutual defense treaty must be expanded" to deal with china's "illegal activities" in the disputed waters of the south china sea. he said that the treaty should be interpreted according to the dynamics of the situation to make it "more flexible", and that the philippines and the united states are negotiating on this.
chinese foreign ministry spokesman lin jian said on the 27th that regional countries have seen clearly who is constantly infringing and provoking in the south china sea, and who is bringing in foreign forces to undermine regional peace and stability. we urge some individuals in the philippines to face up to the root of the problem, not to go further and further on the path of provoking trouble and undermining regional peace, and not to stage the clumsy drama of reversing right and wrong and turning the tables.
dai fan, vice dean of the school of international relations at jinan university and director of the philippine research center, told the global times that the philippines clearly hopes to rely on the united states to provide more support for the us-philippines mutual defense treaty. the united states hopes to show its support for its regional allies, but it will not be easily dragged into it by the philippines.
zhang xuefeng said that the us-philippines mutual defense treaty does provide a framework for mutual assistance between the two sides when they are attacked by armed forces, but its specific content leaves some ambiguity. the philippine defense minister said that he wanted to expand the scope of interpretation of the treaty, attempting to include some low-intensity conflicts, such as collisions or small-scale frictions at sea, into the category of "armed attacks" that can trigger the treaty. however, the united states prefers to keep the treaty vague because it can give it greater initiative.
cnn said manila is watching washington's response closely. us officials declared that they would protect the philippines and stressed washington's "firm commitment" to the us-philippines mutual defense treaty. however, the report said that being dragged into another global conflict is not in the interests of the united states, especially on the eve of the us presidential election, and washington's attention has been occupied by the russia-ukraine conflict and the new round of israeli-palestinian conflict. xu ruilin, a researcher at the institute of defense and strategic studies at the s. rajaratnam school of international studies at nanyang technological university in singapore, said: "if manila cannot rely on the help of the united states, their options are very limited."
“the united states must not support and condone the philippines’ abusive behavior”
from august 27 to 28, wang yi, member of the political bureau of the cpc central committee and director of the central foreign affairs office, held a new round of strategic communication with us president's national security advisor sullivan in beijing, and had candid, substantive and constructive discussions. wang yi stressed that china firmly safeguards its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests over the south china sea islands, and maintains the seriousness and effectiveness of the declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea. the united states must not use bilateral treaties as an excuse to undermine china's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and must not support and condone the philippines' infringements.
zhang xuefeng believes that the us has always been a double-dealing tactic by sending sullivan to china to discuss strategic cooperation while stirring up trouble around china. in particular, in the process of promoting its indo-pacific strategy, the us has been constantly instigating its allies to provoke china. zhang xuefeng said that if china and the us want to avoid conflict, the us needs to stop provoking. no matter how many guardrails the us claims to set up for sino-us relations, if the us over-provokes china, the inertia generated may break through the guardrails.
zhang xuefeng believes that we will actively respond to the philippines' actions. if the philippines takes one step forward, we will push it back ten steps. we must not let its provocation succeed, let alone let it get any benefits.
former philippine information minister tigrao wrote in the manila times on the 28th that the biden administration claimed a "firm commitment" to the us-philippines mutual defense treaty, but these were just empty promises. the article said that the aquino iii government and the current marcos government were unable to realize that the united states had been playing them like puppets. the three collisions (philippines and china) last week showed a "shameful reality" - the marcos government had actually completely lost control of the region, and the united states was "powerless" to do anything about it.
cnn quoted singaporean scholar xu ruilin as saying, "this is a high-risk game for manila... marcos is undoubtedly in serious trouble." the report said that since taking office in 2022, marcos has strengthened the philippines' alliance with the united states and increasingly challenged china's claims in the south china sea. powell, a scholar of international security issues at stanford university, said that manila has currently won the support of some western countries such as the united states, but beijing has not been intimidated. "china has the ability and determination (to safeguard sovereignty)."
fan fan, special correspondent of global times in the philippines; ding yazhi, reporter of global times; wang yi, special correspondent of global times
