Xinhua Commentary: Only right choice for Philippines is to immediately withdraw its vessel from China’s Xianbin Jiao

BEIJING, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) — A Philippine vessel on Sunday illegally intruded into the adjacent waters of Xianbin Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao and caused a minor collision with a China Coast Guard (CCG) ship. It is the second intentional collision caused by the Philippines in a week in the Xianbin Jiao area, following a previous such incident on Monday.
At 2:12 p.m. on Sunday, the Philippine vessel ignored repeated warnings from the Chinese side and deliberately sailed toward the Chinese ship, which was on law enforcement duty, in an unprofessional and dangerous manner, causing the collision, said CCG spokesperson Gan Yu.
These latest developments have revealed the Philippines’ true intent, which is to establish a long-term presence and occupy the reef. Its claim of monitoring China’s coast guard and fishermen is a baseless excuse, as China has no plans to build permanent facilities on the uninhabited Xianbin Jiao.
The Philippines coast guard vessel, coded 9701, entered the lagoon of Xianbin Jiao, without permission and has been there since April, which seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty, violates the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and threatens peace and stability in the South China Sea.
There is a well-documented history over the past two years of provocative behavior by Philippine vessels aimed at the China Coast Guard in the South China Sea. This includes aggressive maneuvers such as dangerous sailing, deliberate collision, and other forms of harassment that have put Chinese vessels at risk.
“The Philippines has gone too far on the wrong path, and it seems that the time has come for Manila to decide,” said Ding Duo, an associate research fellow of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, based in south China’s Hainan Province.
The Philippines must carefully consider whether to continue inciting provocations or change course and engage in serious consultations with China to manage and potentially resolve the dispute.
China will never be deceived by the Philippines again. In 1999, a Philippine military vessel was illegally “grounded” on Ren’ai Jiao, also part of China’s Nansha Qundao. China immediately made démarches to the Philippines, and the Philippines repeatedly pledged that it would tow the vessel away. But 25 years on, it is still there. Clearly, the Philippines is attempting to repeat this scenario at Xianbin Jiao.
As long as the Philippines maintains its coast guard vessel 9701 at Xianbin Jiao, China will remain on high alert in the surrounding waters and cannot rule out the possibility of taking measures, including driving away the Philippine ship if it refuses to withdraw, experts say.
The Philippines has no valid excuse for carrying out replenishment to its functioning 9701 ship, said Yang Xiao, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. If the ship requires supplies, maintenance or rotation, it can independently leave and return to a Philippine port at any time. Should the ship lose power, China can provide tugboat assistance. Moreover, the long-term anchoring of such a large vessel in the lagoon is certain to cause irreversible damage to the coral reefs.
Regarding the situation at Xianbin Jiao, what the Philippines should do is immediately stop infringing on China’s sovereignty and making provocations, withdraw all ships, including the coast guard vessel, from Xianbin Jiao, and work with China to manage differences, rather than endlessly creating incidents and hyping up maritime affairs. Even with support from certain powers outside the region, the Philippines should not assume it can challenge China’s red line. ■