Meeting presents Manila with opportunity to step in line with other ASEAN members

Manila has committed its latest provocative act in the South China Sea, just ahead of the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila on Wednesday, which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is scheduled to attend.

Among Manila's many provocations, confrontations in the South China Sea between illegally intruding Philippine vessels and China Coast Guard boats carrying out enforcement operations have become a routine occurrence. Each dangerous encounter at sea exacerbates tensions and further strains bilateral relations.

What happened on Monday in waters near China's Ren'ai Reef is just one of many such perilous encounters. According to a CCG statement, two rubber boats from the Philippine ship BRP Sierra Madre, which Manila grounded on China's Ren'ai Reef in 1999 and has refused to remove ever since, rapidly approached a CCG patrol boat, which was conducting routine patrols, and rammed it, despite repeatedly being given clear warnings.

Philippine personnel also maliciously struck Chinese law enforcement officers with oars, poles and other tools during the incident. Despite the fact that the Philippine side initiated the provocation, in a bid to mislead the international community, Manila had the nerve to play the victim.

It is only natural that Manila's reckless words and deeds should be censured by Beijing. The head of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urgently summoned the Philippine ambassador to China on Tuesday, lodging solemn representations over the Philippines' deliberate provocation at Ren'ai Reef and its attack on CCG law enforcement personnel.

China values its relations with the Philippines, but Manila should not mistake China's goodwill and restraint for weakness or unlimited tolerance.

China's relations with the other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have remained generally stable. But due to Manila's constant provocative antics in the South China Sea, the same cannot be said of ties between China and the Philippines.

As the rotating chair of ASEAN this year, Manila should play a more constructive role in promoting peace and stability in the region, rather than inviting wolves into the house. Its tactic of enlisting the support of external forces and trying to ignite the cold ashes of the so-called "South China Sea arbitration award" does a disservice to regional efforts to maintain peace in the waters. Beijing has made it clear that the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea must never be linked to the illegal "arbitral award".

It serves no country's interest if stability and cooperation in the region are undermined by feuds.

Instead of exacerbating tensions in the region, the Philippines should leverage its position to facilitate dialogue and cooperation. It should shoulder its responsibilities and act as a promoter and coordinator of regional peace, focusing on constructive engagement rather than provocation. The goal should be to foster an environment conducive to negotiations and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

As China and ASEAN are striving for an early conclusion of negotiations on the COC, the Philippines should prioritize the task, ensuring it reflects the collective interests of ASEAN and China, and not the agendas of external powers.

It is hoped that the China-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting will send a message that prioritizes peace and stability over conflict and division. By fostering a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect, China and ASEAN can work together to turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

China looks forward to the Manila meeting expanding consensus on development and cooperation, making new progress in jointly fostering a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, and striving to forge a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.