A Philippine supply ship dangerously approaches, intentionally collides into a Chinese vessel in waters off China's Ren'ai Jiao in the South China Sea on June 17, 2024. Photo: Courtesy of China Coast Guard

After the Philippine ambassador to the US hyped that the South China Sea dispute may spread to all of Asia and even bring nuclear risks, Chinese experts said on Thursday that Manila is once again trying to portray Beijing as a threat and further rally support from countries inside and outside the region. However, the Philippines' playing the victim card will have little practical effect, as the international community is becoming tired of its tricks.

According to the Financial Times on Wednesday, Jose Manuel Romualdez has hyped that the Philippines' dispute with China in the South China Sea could "engulf countries" across the so-called Indo-Pacific, "raising the spectre of a possible nuclear war." The Philippine ambassador to the US added that "if anything happens, the entire Asian region will be completely included." 

Romualdez's words are aimed at further hyping the so-called China threat, while also attempting to stir up tensions in the South China Sea, and to rally other countries in the region that may have maritime disputes, rather than just the Philippines, to confront the so-called bullying by China in the South China Sea, said Ding Duo, deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

The Philippines is also trying to gain more military and political diplomatic support from other allies of the US outside the region, Ding told the Global Times on Thursday.

By hyping the "China threat," the Philippines is again playing the role of victim, which has become a fixed narrative for this country, and there is currently no sign of it stopping, analysts said. 

As long as China continues to conduct countermeasures toward the Philippines' provocations, Manila will keep playing the victim card, but it may have little practical effect, as the international community is already well aware of its tricks and is becoming tired of them, experts said.

Analysts also noted that the Philippines clearly wants to seek more support from the US, but they warned that Manila is viewed as merely a pawn in the US' strategic game. According to the Financial Times, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell declined to specify the conditions under which the Philippines or the US would invoke their mutual defense treaty.

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US hopes the Philippines will continuously provoke China in the South China Sea, but at the same time, it does not want a real military conflict between the two countries, which actually reflects Washington's contradictory mentality.

Echoing Xu's words, Ding said that the US aims to counter China by leveraging the tensions in the South China Sea. However, due to its limited resources in the region, the US may need to intervene and rein in the Philippines if its actions become too dangerous. "This shows that the Philippines is essentially a puppet being controlled by the US," Ding said.

Therefore, the mutual defense treaty between the US and the Philippines is, to some extent, a nonexistent benefit drawn by Washington for Manila. As such, the Philippines should not harbor too many illusions, Xu said.

China will have absolutely no hesitation in its actions to safeguard its rights and interests in the South China Sea due to the treaty, but will continue to firmly defend its maritime sovereignty and security, Ding said.

According to media reports on Wednesday, 33 Philippine-Chinese chambers of commerce and civic organizations have signed a statement calling for the peaceful resolution of tensions in the South China Sea. In the statement, they appealed to the government of the Philippines to "consider paths that will safeguard the peace, order, and safety of both countries and its peoples."

In response, a spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said on Thursday that the statement reflects the common voice of the Philippine people, and the pursuit of peace, development, and cooperation is the common aspiration of people from both countries, as well as the common desire of the regional countries.

China hopes that the Philippines will listen to the voices of the people, return to the right track of properly handling differences through dialogue and consultation, and work with China to jointly safeguard the sound development of China-Philippines relations and peace and stability in the South China Sea, the spokesperson said.

Also on Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines refuted US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson's remarks that urge China to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the so-called 2016 arbitral ruling. The embassy emphasized that China's position on the South China Sea is consistent and clear, and is in line with international law, including UNCLOS. 

Though not a party to the South China Sea issue, the US has played a dishonorable role by stirring up confrontation and hyping up tension for its own geopolitical interests. History and facts show that the US has never been a solution but rather the problem itself, the embassy said.