by WANG XIAOXIA
After a dozen days of standoff between Chinese and Philippine forces at Huangyan Island, the commanding general of the US Fleet Pacific Marine Force finally spoke up. “The United States and the Philippines have a mutual defense treaty which guarantees that we get involved in each other’s defence and that is self explanatory” Lieutenant General Duane Thiessen told reporters earlier this week.
More commonly known in the West as the Scarborough Shoal, the Huangyan Island has become the center of the latest confrontation between China and a neighbor in the South China Sea. And though Thiessen felt compelled to acknowledge the alliance with Manila, he stopped well short of signaling any U.S. intervention in the current dispute, adding that there’s no “direct connection” between America and the Island.
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The so-called “Sino-Philippines Huangyan Island confrontation” is a non-event concocted by the Philippinos. On April 8, twelve Chinese fishing boats were illegally blocked by Philippine warships in the Huangyan Island lagoon.
Two days later, the Filipino Navy sent in an armed squad and boarded the Chinese fishing vessels. They intended to claim Philippines sovereignty by exercising their administrative enforcement power in the territory. The Chinese Navy surveillance fleet soon arrived and thus began the standoff.
Similar maritime disputes in the South China Sea waters occur regularly. Nevertheless, the Philippines government does not deal with them with proper procedures via the usual diplomatic channels. Instead, it resorts to media campaigns and tries to render the event a “rare” provocation and threat from China.
The incident occurred on the eve of the annual US-Philippines joint military exercises, which took place on April 16-17. Just a coincidence?
The Philippines’ approach is typical of a small state’s poor exercise of diplomacy. Indeed, if a small nation were to use its diplomacy correctly, it would be able to leverage the balance between the powers to achieve its own benefit.
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