Blindly following US brings the Philippines no good

China Coast Guard drives away Philippine vessels intruding into waters of China's Nansha Islands, August 5, 2023. [Photo/China Coast Guard]

Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.

Despite multiple warnings from the Chinese side, the Philippines on Saturday insisted dispatching two vessels into the adjacent waters of Ren'ai Jiao in an attempt to deliver building materials for repairing and reinforcing the grounded military warship. To deter and obstruct the vessels, the China Coast Guard (CCG) fired water cannons.

The conflicts should be solved between China and the Philippines. But interestingly, the U.S. as a country outside the region was quick to step in. U.S. State Department denounced China's actions as "inconsistent with international law" and pledged that an armed attack on the Philippines would "invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments" in a statement released on Sunday.

To begin with, CCG's reactions to the Philippine intrusion are lawful and restrained. Ren'ai Jiao has been part of China's territory. The Philippine government has promised several times to tow its military vessel, which was illegally dispatched to Ren'ai Jiao in 1999, away from the region. However, Manila has not only failed to remove the ship, but – at the instigation of Washington –even attempted to overhaul it with an aim to permanently occupy the area.

Instead of opening fire with artillery, CCG used water cannons to avoid a direct collision. If it were the U.S., it would never allow an illegal ship to strand for 24 years and would act much more aggressively to deter any instruction into American soil. While safeguarding its national sovereignty, China has exerted upmost restraints.

File photo of the Philippine warship grounded on Ren'ai Jiao. [Photo/Xinhua]

No country in the region wants a war. In their January meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Philippine counterpart Ferdinand R. Marcos agreed to manage differences through peaceful means, and stressed that maritime issues do not comprise the sum-total of relations between the two countries. However, the Philippine government has recently become increasingly provocative and impulsive on the South China Sea issue, and the U.S. is the major force behind.

While China wants peace, the U.S. sells war and conflicts to the region. Washington has been adept at sowing discords among regional countries. Whenever there is a dispute, the U.S. will always be the first to step in, shouting "mutual defense commitments" to countries with differences with China. To show its "support" to the Philippines, Washington, citing U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, sent military aircraft and vessels to the region.

This has created an illusion for the Philippine government that Washington will unconditionally back it up in case of any conflict with China. As a result, Manila has been acting impulsive over maritime disputes with China – intensifying patrols in the South China Sea, intruding into the adjacent waters near Ren'ai Jiao, attempting to deliver construction materials for the grounded warship to permanently occupy the region. After all, Manila believes it will gain unswerving support from Washington in case of disputes with Beijing.

The reality bites. Shouting "support" to allies, the U.S. has never dragged itself into a direct conflict with China, and will not sacrifice its core interests to counter the world's second largest economy to "protect" the Philippines. Paying lip service to "support" is Washington's old tactic to drive a dredge among regional countries. As long as China gets hurt, the U.S. is happy to sow discords, stoke conflicts and fuel tensions in the region. Regional peace and stability is the last thing the U.S. cares about in its pursuit of geopolitical gains.

Unlike the U.S., the Philippines and other countries in the region want development, to which peace is the prerequisite. For the Philippine government, shelving disputes and cooperating with China for common growth is the best way for development. Blindly following the U.S. will only lead the Philippines to nowhere.