An essay on reflections on the Scarborough Shoal incident

Treat the China-Philippines Scarborough Shoal standoff rationally

Recently, the China-Philippines Scarborough Shoal incident has become the focus of the South China Sea issue. The Chinese government's rational, restrained and prudent diplomatic response does not seem to be recognized by the Philippine government, and the Philippines even seems to be desperate and fighting to the end. The Philippines' arrogant, rude and ignorant words and deeds have undoubtedly made the prospect of a peaceful resolution of the Scarborough Shoal incident full of uncertainty, aroused great indignation among the Chinese people, and tested the strategic wisdom of the Chinese government in dealing with the crisis.

The Huangyan Island incident reflects the complexity, variability and comprehensiveness of the South China Sea issue, and highlights the intricacies of China's relations with neighboring countries and with major powers outside the region. Behind the artificial disputes and intentional intensification of conflicts by individual countries, what the provocateurs most want to see is for China to lose its mind and fight out of anger, which will trigger a fierce collision between China and the United States in an attempt to subvert the situation in the South China Sea. Sexual mutations and sustained turbulence, thereby achieving the sinister purpose of fishing in troubled waters and profiting from chaos. This really underestimates the strategic judgment of the Chinese government, the strategic adaptability of China's diplomacy in the face of complex events, and the strategic willpower of the Chinese people to resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty.

The Chinese government’s response to the Scarborough Shoal incident between China and the Philippines can be described as reasonable, beneficial and measured. It not only resolutely defended national sovereignty and national dignity, but also demonstrated the vision of a major country that weighs the overall situation and maintained the flexibility of diplomatic response. Since the incident, the Chinese government's basic policy stance and handling principles can be summarized into four aspects:

There is no doubt that sovereignty belongs to me. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly emphasized that China was the first to discover and name Huangyan Island, and the first to include it in China's territory and implement sovereign jurisdiction. China has sufficient legal basis for its territorial sovereignty over Huangyan Island. Before 1997, the Philippines had never raised any objection to the Chinese government's exercise of sovereign jurisdiction and development and utilization of Huangyan Island, and it had repeatedly stated that Huangyan Island was outside the scope of Philippine territory.

Defending sovereignty is legitimate and legal. China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands and adjacent waters, and the Chinese government’s position on safeguarding territorial sovereignty is firm. The cause of this incident was the Philippines' violation of China's sovereignty and harassment of Chinese fishing boats and fishermen. The Chinese fishery administration vessels went to the South China Sea to perform routine patrols and law enforcement. The Philippines should earnestly respect China's sovereignty. China urges the Philippines to immediately evacuate all ships from the waters off Scarborough Shoal and restore peace and tranquility in the waters. In accordance with its responsibilities and tasks, the Chinese military will closely cooperate with fishery administration, maritime surveillance and other departments to jointly safeguard the country's maritime rights and interests.

Diplomatic consultation is the solution. China insists on resolving the current situation through diplomatic consultation and strongly urges the Philippines not to take any further actions that will escalate the situation and return to the right track of diplomatic settlement. The Philippines should not involve other countries or ask other countries to choose sides. Internationalizing this issue will only further complicate and expand it, and will not help solve the problem at all.

There is no basis for submitting to international arbitration. Scarborough Shoal is China's inherent territory and there is no question of submitting it to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows coastal states to establish an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, but coastal states have no right to damage the inherent territorial sovereignty of other countries. The idea and practice of changing territorial sovereignty on the basis of a convention violates the purposes and principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Chinese government’s strategic restraint and limited actions have retained room for continued diplomatic action, achieved substantial results, and seized the strategic initiative. At present, China's proactive position has not changed, there is still diplomatic space to resolve the incident, Huangyan Island is still under China's control, and China's armed forces have always been a strong pillar in defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

As long as we hold on to the bottom line, as long as we are not impatient, as long as we are strong and soft, as long as we insist on being reasonable, beneficial and restrained, we will win a greater battle on the South China Sea issue