中文
The US Capitol building is seen in Washington, DC, on Nov 8, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Li Yang
The US State Department issued a statement on Monday criticizing the "reckless maneuvers" of Chinese ships, which it said "deliberately collided with two Philippine Coast Guard vessels" in waters near China's Ren'ai and Xianbin reefs in the South China Sea earlier that day.
It comes as no surprise. Every time the Philippines instigates such incidents, the US will swiftly voice its support for Manila and splash dirty water on Beijing.
Even the reporters of the US media outlets that in a remarkable coincidence are so often on board the Philippine ships when such incidents occur, cast aside their principles of independence and objectivity and never bother to try and cover the incidents from any other angle.
The reason why the US would rather stay in the background behind the Philippines as it stages one farce after another is Washington is well aware of the fact that it cannot afford the costs and collateral damage of an open conflict with China on China's doorstep.
Instead, it promises more economic aid that never arrives. And if that doesn't work, it will flex its own muscles in the region by carrying out "patrols".
In fact, the US has never truly thought of the issue from the angle of the Philippines. Otherwise, it would not have enabled and emboldened the Philippines to carry out its provocations. Washington is pushing the Philippines to the brink of conflict with China rather than seeking to maintain peace and stability in the region.
The patience and restraint Beijing has shown so far toward Manila's stunts are because it can see the dilemma Manila has cornered itself into by surrendering its strategic autonomy to Washington. No matter how the US' China policy changes in the future, the fact that China and the Philippines are permanent neighbors will never change. It is the same for Japan, another agent of the US in the region at present.
The more the US pushes its two regional allies to the front to confront China, the more clearly the international community can see the nature of the root cause behind the rising tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
As Beijing has said, none of the US' bilateral security treaties with regional countries can justify its overt and covert interference in the latter's bilateral maritime disputes with China. That means while its regional proxies count on the treaties for US protection, as Washington impresses them to believe, the treaties will not dissuade China from defending its own sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests if the need arises.
While the US is pushing its regional allies to the front line in the potential theater of war it is preparing for its own narrow ends, China's door for cooperation and communication will always be kept open to them for the benefit of regional peace and common development.
