Manila naive to demand damages

It is ludicrous of the Philippine military chief to repeatedly demand that China pay damages for and return the rifles seized during a confrontation between Chinese and Philippine personnel in the South China Sea in June.

Manila's intention behind such a demand is to give the world the impression that China is bullying the Philippines. But the fact is that the Philippine Navy has taken repeated provocative actions in the South China Sea, leading to clashes.

The China Coast Guard has been warning Philippine vessels not to make provocative moves or venture into the waters around China's islands every time the Philippines sends its vessels to the disputed waters. Beijing has reiterated time again that maritime disputes in the South China Sea be resolved through talks, but its calls have fallen on Manila's deaf ears.

It is the Philippines that has been trying to provoke China in order to trigger clashes in the South China Sea, and thus give the United States an excuse to intervene in the disputes on its behalf and form an anti-China front.

The Philippines has become especially aggressive in the South China Sea since 2023, when it allowed the US military to set up four new bases on its territory. Since the Philippines is willing to act as a pawn to take forward the US' geopolitical strategy to contain China, it has been making even more aggressive moves to provoke China in the South China Sea.

But the Philippines has underestimated China's resolve to safeguard its maritime territories. Under no circumstances will China give in to external threats and compromise on safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China has no intention of bullying any country despite it being the world's second-largest economy, and it has never run roughshod over any country. Instead, it seeks to establish good neighborly relations with its neighboring countries.

The Belt and Road Initiative, which has benefited many countries in terms of infrastructure development and trade, speaks volumes about how China has been trying to promote common development. And the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that China has signed with the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand projects China's vision of building an Asia-Pacific community with a shared future.

As far as relations between China and the Philippines are concerned, the ball is in the Philippines' court. It could have maintained good relations with China, as the two countries did enjoy a good relationship before Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr assumed office in 2022.

If, like his predecessor, Marcos, too, had tried to settle the maritime disputes through talks, and consulted China on what the two sides should do to take the relationship forward, there wouldn't be any tensions in the South China Sea.

Instead, Marcos sided with the US, which has been trying to contain China in order to maintain its global hegemony and further consolidate its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Philippine president believes he can challenge China with the support of the US. But he is being naive to think so. China will never compromise on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. So he should stop fantasizing that Washington will engage in a conflict with Beijing in order to defend Manila's interests. The US is just using the Southeast Asian country as a pawn in its geopolitical game to contain the rise of China.

China will continue to defend its maritime rights and take appropriate action against the Philippines' provocative moves. And no, Beijing will not pay any damages to Manila.