Manila should be wary of being a play piece

This is an editorial from China Daily.

On Saturday, the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army said in an official release that it had warned off a Philippine aircraft, which had illegally entered the airspace over China's Huangyan Island in the South China Sea.

The latest incident happened on Thursday during a two-day joint military exercise held by the Philippines, the United States, Australia and Canada, which began the day before. The exercises were a clear demonstration of Manila's emboldening as a result of the encouragement given it for its provocations by countries from outside the region.

That four-nation military exercise, one among a slew of exercises the Philippines conducted with non-regional countries in 10 days near disputed waters in the South China Sea, underscores Manila's role as a troublemaker.

To respond to such blatant provocations, the PLA Southern Theater Command on Wednesday organized a joint combat patrol in the waters and airspace near Huangyan Island. With Manila repeatedly stoking tensions in the South China Sea, the PLA and relevant law enforcement Chinese authorities are fully justified in stepping up countermeasures and deterrence in the waters.

In the face of the frequent intrusions by Philippine vessels and aircraft into the waters and airspace around Chinese islands and islets, the PLA has developed a series of countermeasures to deploy maritime and aerial forces to identify, verify, track, monitor, warn and drive away the intruding aircraft and vessels.

The provocations by the Philippines with the collusion of outside countries only further consolidate China's resolve to resolutely defend its sovereignty and maritime interests. The shows of support the US and some of its allies are giving the Philippines does not daunt China and will not deter it from safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Long gone are the days when gunboat diplomacy could force China to swallow the bitter fruit of conceding territory. The PLA is on the path to becoming a modern, world-class defense force and it is fully capable of safeguarding Chinese territorial integrity, security and maritime rights and to timely respond to any provocative moves or threats.

Manila, on its part, as a willing pawn of outside forces that seek to gain strategic interest from meddling in the regional maritime disputes, should know depending on US support will only make itself vulnerable and more insecure, pushing it closer to the brink of being its proxy in a devastating war.

Many in the Philippines have already pointed out the risks of the country serving as a launchpad and springboard for a foreign country to take aggressive action against another country and even against a neighbor. Manila should change course and return to the right path of dialogue and consultation to resolve the maritime differences between the two countries. It should recognize that peace and stability in the South China Sea is also in its best interest.