behind the evacuation of philippine coast guard ship 9701 from xianbin reef
2024-09-16
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chinese coast guard spokesperson liu dejun said in a statement on the 15th that at around 14:00 on september 14, the philippine coast guard ship no. 9701, which had illegally stayed in the xianbin reef lagoon of china's nansha islands, had evacuated.
ding duo, deputy director of the institute of oceanology and policy at the china institute of south china sea studies, said in an exclusive interview with the voice of the south china sea that the withdrawal of the philippine coast guard ship 9701 shows that china's strategy of safeguarding its rights in the south china sea from the three levels of on-site control, diplomatic communication, and public opinion cognition is effective. it also proves once again that firmly upholding the seriousness and effectiveness of the "declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea" (hereinafter referred to as the "declaration") and actively promoting consultations on the "code of conduct in the south china sea" (hereinafter referred to as the "code") are the only way to maintain peace and stability in the south china sea.
since april 17, the philippine coast guard ship 9701 has illegally stayed at china's xianbin reef for nearly five months, using the so-called "china's land reclamation at xianbin reef" as an excuse. during this period, china took control measures on the ship 9701 in accordance with the law, and the philippines' repeated attempts to organize forced replenishment have all failed.
ding duo said that the chinese coast guard has taken effective control measures against the illegal detention of the philippine coast guard ship 9701, making it impossible for it to carry out either sea or air replenishment. "the philippines has realized that ship 9701 cannot stay in xianbin reef for a long time on its own and has to withdraw."
during the period when the philippine coast guard ship 9701 illegally stayed at the xianbin reef, china always kept the door to dialogue with the philippines and actively conducted intensive communication at the diplomatic level.
on september 11, china and the philippines held a meeting of heads of the bilateral consultative mechanism (bcm) on the south china sea. china reiterated its principled position on the xianbin reef issue and urged the philippines to immediately withdraw the relevant ships.
on september 13, china and asean countries held the 22nd senior officials' meeting on the implementation of the declaration in xi'an. all parties agreed that maintaining peace and stability in the south china sea is of great significance, and called for strengthening dialogue, exercising restraint, properly handling differences, and enhancing mutual trust.
in these two talks, the comprehensive and effective implementation of the declaration and the protection of its seriousness and effectiveness were the main focuses.
ding duo said, "the philippines' continued actions to undermine stability in the south china sea have not received any response or reaction from regional countries. it is conceivable that the philippines has been under more or less pressure within asean." this shows that for regional countries, promoting the implementation of the declaration and the "code of conduct" consultations is still the mainstream policy, and china's efforts at the diplomatic level have also played a positive role in easing the situation in the south china sea.
this year, the philippines has repeatedly used environmental issues to hype up international public opinion and make false accusations against china. china has promptly clarified the source of the false information released by the philippines.
during the period when the philippine coast guard ship illegally stayed at the xianbin reef, china released the "xianbin reef coral reef ecosystem investigation report" and the documentary "if xianbin reef could talk", using scientific data and real images of xianbin reef to effectively refute the philippines' lie that china was destroying the coral reefs of xianbin reef.
ding duo said that in coordination with the work at the diplomatic level, effective public opinion awareness work also played a restraining role on the philippines, and to some extent played a positive role in helping the philippines slow down its provocative actions at sea.
regarding the next move of the philippine coast guard ship after its withdrawal, ding duo said that we should not take it lightly. "the current philippine government has the characteristics of policy reversal and vacillation. we still need to maintain strategic determination in safeguarding our rights and maintaining stability in the south china sea. this strategic determination is also based on our strength in safeguarding our rights and maintaining stability."
on the afternoon of september 14, senior colonel wu qian, spokesperson for the chinese ministry of national defense, reiterated at a press conference that no matter who stirs up trouble in the south china sea and infringes upon china's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, china will take strong and effective measures to resolutely counter.
reprinted from: voice of the south china sea
china media group chinese global program center new media
source: cctv4
