Alongside the Philippines, India defies Beijing at the Sea of Southern China

The Philippin chief of staff, General Romeo Brawner, immediately warned that the visit of the Indian ships in the port of Manila was “more than ceremonial”. Therefore, She addressed. However, he insisted, “a powerful signal of solidarity, force in partnership and energy in cooperation between two vigorous democracies of the Indo-Pacific Region”. Therefore, The Chinese Defense Ministry, for its part, has mocked the initiative by deeming it purely symbolic. Similarly, Worse. Similarly, it is assured in Beijing, it is likely to make the Philippin government falsely believe that it can count on India in the event of a conflict.

The Philippines. Moreover, Japan sign a defense pact in a context of clashes in the China Sea

The Scarborough reef

The maneuvers take place, in fact, near the Scarborough reef. Located some 200 km west of alongside philippines, india defies beijing Luzon. the main island of the Philippines, this three -meter -high atoll at low tide, whose emerged surface is no more than two hectares, has become the symbol of the territorial litigation of the Spratleys in the South China Sea. This archipelago dispersed on a quadrilateral of more than 200. 000 km2 that the major international sea routes are crossed, is claimed in whole or in part by China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Scarborough crystallized the tensions in 2012. when the Chinese, who called the Huangyan Dao reef, dismissed the Philippins, who call him Panatag. While advocating negotiations to settle the conflict of sovereignty. China, considering that the Spratleys have belonged to it for time immemorial, has not ceased, in recent years, to consolidate its grip there, returning to the sea on the sea to build buildings, ports and aviation tracks on several reefs and alongside philippines, india defies beijing atolls, which it then militarized.

A 2016 judgment

Laded war. the Philippines had seized the International Arbitration Court of The Hague and obtained success with a judgment of July 12, 2016 claiming that Chinese claims were contrary to international law. Beijing ignored the decision and continued its more beautiful implementation in the Spratleys. The incidents have multiplied at sea, especially when the Filipino fishermen admitted to entering the very fishy waters around Scarborough.

If his predecessor. Rodrigo Duterte, had favored the appeasement with China, President Marcos, son of the former dictator of the same name, wants to be more offensive. Taking advantage of the showdown between Donald Trump. Xi Jinping, he convinced the American ally to reaffirm his support for Manila more ostensibly, while the Philippines organized military maneuvers with other countries including Japan, Australia, France and Canada.

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Internationalize the conflict

This approach is naturally not to the taste of the Chinese authorities who criticize Manila for wanting to “internationalize” territorial litigation. whereas, according to them, it only concerns the countries directly affected. They therefore do not hesitate to reproach the Philippines for playing “the troublemakers” seeking to involve foreign powers.

Given a historical hostility which translates into sporadic clashes along their common border. China is particularly irritated by the emergence of India on this theater of operations, which would only have motivation, according to Beijing, that the prospect of selling more weapons in the Philippines, missiles in particular (delivery took place last April). And the Chinese to be Gausser Indians who would like to feed. in the China Sea, strategic ambitions of which they do not have the means.

Beijing launches “combat patrols” at the southern China Sea disputed