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[global times reporter fan wei] after the philippine coast guard ship 9701 withdrew from the chinese xianbin reef waters due to "running out of ammunition and food", the philippines kept finding reasons to withdraw the ship and threatened to "continue to maintain its presence" in the xianbin reef waters. agence france-presse reported on the 16th that philippine coast guard spokesman tariela said at a press conference that day that "the philippines has not lost anything, nor has it given up anything."

after the philippine coast guard ship 9701 withdrew from the waters of the xianbin reef on the 14th, tariela stated on the social platform x that the ship was "forced to return to the port due to bad weather, insufficient supply of daily necessities for the crew, and evacuation of personnel who needed medical treatment". his statement not only failed to gain the understanding of the filipino people, but also attracted a lot of criticism. many filipino netizens left messages asking tariela to further explain the philippines' "concession". at the press conference on the 16th, tariela stated that the philippine coast guard only redeployed the ships, "which does not mean that the philippine coast guard ships will not be deployed in the xianbin reef area again". agence france-presse reported that tariela refused to disclose more details for operational safety reasons.

in addition, alexander lopez, spokesman for the philippine national maritime commission, also declared in a reply to the philippine daily inquirer on the 16th that the philippine coast guard will replace the evacuated ship with another ship and "continue to maintain its presence." lopez also did not provide details of the "replacement ship."

"the philippines may describe its helpless retreat as 'freedom to come and go' within its 'jurisdiction', but the facts of the struggle in recent months have fully demonstrated that if the philippines deliberately provokes and tries to force china to accept its changes to the status quo in the south china sea, it will be met with strong countermeasures from china." xue chen, a doctoral student at the shanghai institute for international studies, told the global times that the philippines does not have the "freedom" to provoke at will without being stopped or countered.

ding duo, deputy director of the institute of oceanography and policy of the china institute of south china sea studies, said in an interview with the global times that tariela's remarks were an attempt by the philippines to save face and another show in the political and public opinion fields. but he believes that the philippines may make tactical adjustments in the next step. if the illegal stay at xianbin reef for five months does not work, the philippines may give up entering the xianbin reef lagoon in the future and instead send ships to carry out intermittent harassment.

"not only xianbin reef, the philippines may continue to cause trouble in ren'ai reef and other places." ding duo said that the supply ship that the philippines had previously used for illegal supply operations in ren'ai reef has basically completed repairs after being damaged, and these ships may be sent out to continue to carry out illegal infringement activities. in addition, the philippines may also create trouble again in places such as huangyan island and tiexian reef.

agence france-presse reported that us state department spokesman matthew miller said on the 16th that china's actions "endangered the safety and livelihood of the filipino people" and said that the united states would continue to support its ally the philippines. according to the philippine star on the 17th, philippine defense minister gilbert teodoro said in an interview with the us columbia broadcasting corporation that he believed that if china tried to force the philippine warships that were illegally "grounded" in the waters of ren'ai reef to withdraw, the united states would intervene.

"the philippines' withdrawal from the xianbin reef once again exposes the extremely limited support the united states has given the philippines." ding duo believes that more and more filipinos have realized that the united states only gives the philippines some slogans and other formal support at the political and diplomatic level, and at most provides some information and intelligence. in the past five months, it is not ruled out that american military personnel participated in the philippine coast guard's infringement actions in the waters of xianbin reef as journalists, but the united states does not want to be deeply implicated, and its characteristic of "lip service but no substance" is becoming more and more obvious.

ding duo believes that if the philippines insists on infringing and provoking, china's control measures will only become more and more stringent, and the philippines will not gain any advantage. previously, the philippines may have believed that it could gain certain advantages in politics, diplomacy, and international public opinion, but as china's response measures increase, its situation becomes increasingly passive.