The fight in the South China Sea has changed in a qualitative way. The US military first fired the first shot. The Chinese reclaimed the Xianbin Reef, and the militia gathered more and more

A few days ago, the US Navy destroyer "Halsey", under the banner of "free navigation", illegally broke into China's Xisha territorial sea, which means a strong sense of provocation against China. At that time, it was the last day of the US Philippines joint military exercise, and the situation in the South China Sea was at an extremely sensitive moment. The US military took the lead in firing the "first shot" in the South China Sea. In order to further aggravate the situation, it could be said that it was blatantly challenging China. Immediately, the PLA's southern theater sent out sea and air forces to monitor and alert them. Just after the US military's provocation, it was reported recently that the Philippines had sent a patrol ship to the waters of our Xianbin Reef, and the Chinese side had also sent a maritime police force to confront it for several days.

Why did the Philippines send warships to provoke in the sea area of Xianbin Reef? We cannot rule out three possibilities. First, the Philippines tried to illegally occupy Xianbin Reef; The second is to distract the attention of the Chinese maritime police and pave the way for the next invasion of Ren'ai Reef; The third is to prevent China from "reclaiming land from the sea" on Xianbin Reef. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, with the Philippine maritime power, the former two are almost impossible to achieve, so there is only one possibility left. Recently, the office of Philippine President Marcos issued a statement accusing China of carrying out "land reclamation project" in Xianbin Reef. To be sure, the Philippines' accusation of China is groundless, because China has indisputable sovereignty over Xianbin Reef. Even if China reclaims land here, it is not the Philippines' turn to dictate. What do you think of it?

First of all, if the news from the Philippines is true, it will have a great impact on the Philippines. The geographical location of Xianbin Reef is very special, and it is relatively close to Ren'ai Reef and Palawan Island in the Philippines. Every time Philippine ships launch replenishment missions to Ren'ai Reef, they almost start from Palawan Island. If China really completes land reclamation in Xianbin Reef, just like Meiji Island, it means that the Philippines' illusion of Ren'ai Reef and Xianbin Reef will be shattered. Therefore, the Philippines may take the opportunity to block the process of China's land reclamation, but the practical significance of the Philippines' doing so is not great, because China has enough means to deal with it, and only two maritime police ships are enough.

Secondly, since the South China Sea dispute has developed, China's attitude has always been relatively mild, but the Philippines has never been willing to return to the right track of managing differences, which has forced China to change its strategy. If we talk about China's reclamation of Xianbin Reef, it is not difficult to see that the nature of the struggle in the South China Sea has changed qualitatively, which means that the game in the South China Sea does not necessarily require the use of force, and the way of reclamation can still leave the Philippines helpless.

When it comes to the situation in the South China Sea, the Chinese side has already won the battle. Not only are the directions of Ren'ai Reef and Xianbin Reef, including Huangyan Island and Zhongye Island, the Chinese side has already arranged in advance and gathered more and more militia ships. The Chinese side has deployed about 124 ships to watch the islands and reefs of Huangyan Island and Zhongye Island. Even if the Philippines has any tricks, the Chinese side can find them at the first time and respond in a timely manner. Therefore, the Philippines should not think about any tricks, give up fantasy as soon as possible, and take the initiative to talk and negotiate with China is the right way. If we persist in confrontation, the Philippines will only fall into a quagmire and cannot extricate itself.