The Philippines will reap what it sows: China Daily editorial

The Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army conducted a joint naval-air training exercise in the waters and airspace around China's Huangyan Island on Sunday. The China Coast Guard also carried out law enforcement drills in the waters on the same day. These were a necessary response as well as a stern warning to the Philippines, whose actions threaten peace and stability in the South China Sea.

The Chinese military remains on the alert and prepared to respond in the face of repeated and escalating provocations from Manila. The latest exercise tested and enhanced the PLA's capabilities to fulfill its responsibility of safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and development interests and sent a strong message of deterrence to Manila.

The Philippines has been intensifying its provocations in the South China Sea by making incursions into Chinese waters and seeking the support of external powers. It has also reneged on the commitments made to China. Taken together, these actions form a chain of provocation.

Manila has exploited the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting to forge alliances with external forces and coerce some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations into conducting joint military exercises near China's Huangyan Island. It has sent supplies to support the military personnel stationed in a vessel that it has illegally grounded at China's Ren'ai Reef since 1999.

During the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival on Friday, some ill-intentioned Filipino politicians attempted to provoke incidents in the South China Sea. After the CCG blocked the Philippines from supplying the old warship at Ren'ai Reef, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr threatened to continue with such activities, emphasizing that the Philippines was committed to strengthening its military force at sea through its so-called "Comprehensive Archipelago Defense Concept".

The western boundary of Philippine territorial waters is the 118-degree east longitude line, and Huangyan Island is not within this boundary. Before 1997, the Philippines did not dispute China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island or make territorial claims over it. But as Teodoro sees it, "truth" lies within range of his verbal artillery.

What the South China Sea needs is not confrontation, but conciliation and cooperation. Persistent provocations undermine not only the Philippines' development opportunities and regional trust but also the hard-won peace and stability in the region. Attempts to form cliques or rely on external interference are detrimental to those efforts.

It is high time Manila stopped its provocations and returned to the right path of resolving differences through negotiation. By working with China and other ASEAN countries, the Philippines can play its due role in promoting consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. If the Philippines continues to ignore international law and China's goodwill, and engages in risky acts in the South China Sea, it will reap what it sows.

From the Middle East to Ukraine, the fallout from regional crises ought to make any sensible person cherish the relative peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. That a handful of politicians in Manila have failed to heed the lessons speaks volumes about their ulterior motives. Their attempts to roil the South China Sea command scant support of peace-loving nations. Every provocation narrows, not widens, the space and opportunities available to the Philippines to secure its purported "sovereignty" and related interests. China has the patience to watch their buffoonery — and the capacity to foil their designs.