Illustration: Liu Xidan/GT

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro remarked on Tuesday that the Philippines is a "victim of Chinese aggression," to which Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded that every escalation of maritime disputes between China and the Philippines was triggered by the infringement activities and provocations of the Philippines. Observer said that the latest remarks of Teodoro are a manifestation of the Philippines' scheme of "a thief crying 'stop thief,'" adding that Philippine defense chief playing victim is staging a political show, which will not result in any effective interaction.

According to Reuters on Tuesday, Teodoro said that "What we see is an increasing demand by Beijing for us to concede our sovereign rights in the area," after meeting Australian counterpart Richard Marles, adding that the Philippines is a "victim of Chinese aggression." 

In response to Teodoro's remarks, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing on Tuesday that it was the Philippines who took infringement activities first and China had to take necessary measures in accordance with law to safeguard our lawful rights and interests. If the Philippines stops infringement activities and provocations, there will be no trouble at sea, Lin said.

Teodoro's remarks are a typical example of "a thief crying 'stop thief,'" Yang Xiao, deputy director of Institute of Maritime Strategy Studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

It also shows that the Philippines has no other better way to pursue its illegal claim as it does not possess enough military capacity to carry out provocations, which is why it can only resort to hyping up the issue in the international community, attempting to make the South China Sea issue an international issue, Yang added.

Teodoro's remarks followed a recent series of provocative actions of Manila. The Philippine enacted the Philippine Maritime Zones (PMZ) Act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (PASL) Act on Friday, attempting to solidify the illegal ruling of the 2016 arbitration case through domestic legislation, illegally including China's Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) and most of the islands and reefs in the Nansha Islands and their related waters in its maritime zones.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday summoned the Philippine Ambassador to China to make solemn representations, and China released the baselines of the territorial sea adjacent to Huangyan Dao. The China Coast Guard (CCG) also announced it will continuously strengthen patrols and law enforcement in the territorial waters of Huangyan Dao and related maritime areas on Sunday.

Yang said that there is no doubt that the latest situation has been inflicted by the Philippines itself due to the introduction of two laws which infringe on China's territorial integrity.