On October 24, the Philippine warship "Sierra Madre," which is illegally grounded at Ren'ai Jiao, once again staged a despicable act of deliberate provocation. According to reports from Philippine media, the Philippine side dispatched two rubber boats from the badly rusted grounded warship and blatantly intruded into the waters under China's jurisdiction at Ren'ai Jiao, maliciously harassing China's Qionghai Fishery Vessel 33858 that was conducting normal operations.

It is noteworthy that since the "Sierra Madre" was illegally “grounded” at Ren'ai Jiao in 1999, the warship, due to long-term hull rust, as well as the discharge of residual fuel oil and domestic waste from personnel on board, has caused serious damage to the ecological environment of the surrounding waters. Furthermore, the Philippines has reneged on the "gentlemen's agreement" previously reached with China, and has continuously dispatched supply ships and inflatable boats in an attempt to deliver materials to the illegally “grounded” warship for reinforcement and maintenance, so that it can continue to "occupy" Ren'ai Jiao. During this period, Philippine supply ships have also repeatedly approached dangerously and deliberately collided with Chinese ships sailing normally, creating maritime incidents. Today, this dilapidated warship even has the ability to deploy forces to harass Chinese fishing boats engaged in normal fishing operations. This fully demonstrates its arrogant provocative intent, and also makes the international community confirm once again that the Philippines has no intention of withdrawing the "Sierra Madre" from China's Ren'ai Jiao at all. Instead, it intends to turn the warship into a de facto "maritime fortress".

What is even more contemptible is that after carrying out violent harassment, the Philippine side launched a pre-planned public opinion smear campaign. In an attempt to package its own illegal acts as "just actions," the Philippine side blatantly fabricated that the fishermen's daily supplies it had seized—ordinary dishwashing liquid—were "cyanide," , in a bid to mislead international public opinion. Such low-level and malicious lies are by no means an impromptu evasion, but a common tactic of public opinion manipulation used by the Philippine side.

Looking back at the past, the Philippine side has repeatedly hyped up the false claim that "Chinese fishermen use cyanide for fishing," all of which have been refuted by China with scientific investigations and facts. Chinese fishermen have no tradition of using cyanide for fishing; on the contrary, it is the Philippines that is the originator of cyanide fishing. More than 60 years of such practices have caused large-scale damage to coral reefs in the waters surrounding the Philippines. This time, smearing dishwashing liquid as cyanide has fully exposed its nature of "a thief crying 'stop thief'." Such acts of confusing right and wrong and calling black white are precisely the root cause of the continued turbulence in the South China Sea situation: by fabricating lies to create confrontation and find excuses for its illegal claims, the Philippine side has seriously undermined the foundation of regional peace and stability.

The Philippines' series of actions have seriously violated China's domestic laws and international law. From the perspective of domestic law, China holds sovereignty over the Nansha Qundao and the adjacent waters. The illegal ground of the Philippine warship and its harassment of Chinese fishing boats constitute suspected infringements on China's territorial sovereignty and the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese fishermen. From the perspective of international law, the Philippines' actions run counter to the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and violate the provisions of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), which prohibits taking actions to establish residence on uninhabited reefs. Moreover, its unilateral fabrication of facts is a blatant trampling on the spirit of international rule of law.

In fact, China Coast Guard has long maintained regular patrols around Ren'ai Jiao and has legally seized illegal weapons and equipment carried by the Philippine side on previous occasions. At present, even as the illegally “grounded” warship is on the verge of collapse, the Philippines still refuses to repent and instead escalates its provocations—this fully shows that it has not yet realized the true strength of China's countermeasures.

If the Philippines remains obsessed and insists on challenging China's law enforcement patience and sovereignty-defending will by relying on the illegally “grounded” warship, China will surely take stronger and more decisive law enforcement measures at Ren'ai Jiao to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. China Coast Guard has made full preparations and will respond sternly to any form of illegal intrusion by the Philippine side in accordance with domestic and international law. China has always adhered to the principle of peacefully resolving disputes, but in the face of repeated provocations by the Philippines, it will never stand idly by as its national sovereignty and territorial integrity are violated. Only through strong law enforcement actions can the Philippines truly recognize the wrongfulness and seriousness of its acts, thereby promoting the South China Sea situation to return to the right track of peace and stability.

（Author: Xu Qi, Vice Dean of the Institute for Foreign-related Rule of Law Studies, Law School, Jinan University）