TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Chinese Coast Guard claimed Tuesday (March 5) to have legally regulated Filipino vessels allegedly entering the waters near the Second Thomas Shoal in the Nansha Islands illegally.
The Philippines' president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned of retaliation if the country's South China Sea sovereignty is disregarded.
President Marcos, during a visit to Australia's Lowy Institute, expressed willingness to collaborate with China despite the bilateral tensions. However, he accused China of aggressive actions in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including water cannon usage and deliberate collisions to drive away Filipino vessels.
During Marcos' regime, on the military front, the number of bases available to American forces nearly doubled, including three new bases facing Taiwan, a move China perceives as provocative.
China's Global Times questioned the Philippines' stand on the South China Sea controversy, expressing dissatisfaction with the continual stirring up of the South China Sea issue and how it manipulates international opinion to erode China's rights and interests.
The Global Times accused the Philippines of deliberately instigating through its 'maritime militias' and portraying China as a bully, causing disruption to regional stability.
The state-run newspaper also criticized Manila for "inviting wolves into the house," referring to the Philippines' preference for aligning with Western nations, and expressed a warning about who is continually stirring up the South China Sea situation and propagating the "China threat theory."