Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
The Philippines is once again staging a clumsy political show regarding the South China Sea issue. On Tuesday, a Philippine C-208 reconnaissance aircraft illegally intruded into China's territorial airspace over Huangyan Dao without permission of the Chinese government. In response, the navy and air force troops of the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command tracked and monitored the Philippine reconnaissance aircraft in accordance with law and regulations, and expelled it. As expected, foreign media representatives, including an AP journalist and an AFP photographer, invited by the Philippine side, filmed the incident. On the same day, Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo spoke to the Financial Times. During the interview, Manalo accused China's military aircraft of being "reckless" and "unprofessional," while claiming that he had been reassured by the US' reaffirmation last week of its commitment to its alliance with the Philippines.
The timing and coordination of these actions could not be more obvious: another carefully planned political show by the Philippines. This series of actions has become a familiar routine: provoke conflict, invite foreign media to film and report, and create a "China threat" narrative in order to gain more international support. This time, to portray China as a "villain," some in the Philippines have even copied the Western-favored narrative of "reckless flight." However, faced with the firm resolve of China's People's Liberation Army to safeguard the country's sovereignty, the Philippines' attempts to pursue its illegal sovereignty claims with military provocations and misleading the world falter.
Huangyan Dao is China's inherent territory. "The Philippines' so-called 'maritime domain awareness flight' in this region is, in fact, a military reconnaissance and patrol disguised as a civilian flight to provoke China," Chinese military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times. The Philippines' actions have seriously violated China's sovereignty, as well as international law and relevant provisions of Chinese law. China's response is justified, clearly demonstrating that no matter how much the Philippines provokes China, it cannot hinder China's determination to protect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The Philippines' provocations do not change the legal deficiencies in its claims over the South China Sea. At the 61st Munich Security Conference last week, Chinese expert Wu Shicun cited the 1898 Paris Treaty, which states that the Philippines' western maritime boundary is set at 118°E longitude, to question Manalo: "How come that the Huangyan Dao and Ren'ai Jiao, which lie outside this boundary, were sitting in the Philippine territory?" Manalo chose to avoid the question by shifting to another topic. This once again exposes the lack of legal basis for the Philippines' claims and highlights who is truly being "reckless" and "unprofessional" on the South China Sea issue.
After the meeting between Manalo and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Munich Security Conference, the Philippines chose to provoke China again. It appears that Manila is trying hard to prove to the new US administration that it can play a crucial role in the US' "Indo-Pacific Strategy." However, the US views the Philippines merely as a pawn in its strategic layout in the Asia-Pacific region. If the Philippines blindly follows and believes in the US, it will ultimately become a victim of great power competition, suffering more than it gains.
This Southeast Asian country seems to be caught in a dangerous predicament. From repeatedly hyping the issue of its illegally grounded warship to consistently using "fishing boats" and "fisheries aircraft" to intrude upon Chinese territory while falsely portraying itself as a "victim," the Philippines continues to recycle a political script driven by strategic calculation and diplomatic performance. What this reveals is not a sense of "reassurance" as stated by Manalo, but rather the Philippines' nervousness. The country knows that its claims and assertions lack legal or moral grounding in the international community. Thus, it resorts to provoking China in an attempt to internationalize the South China Sea issue. Every "performance" by the Philippines serves as a reminder to the international community of the illegitimacy and absurdity of its claims in the South China Sea.
