In a recent interview, Philippine Defence Secretary Teodoro said China was misbehaving in the South China Sea. He also praised the United States for supporting the Philippines, which has an important role in regional security. He seems to want to strengthen the Philippines' own strategic advantage through good foreign relations.
He has no compunction about calling China 'the greatest spoiler of international peace'. He has even encouraged the international community to intervene in the South China Sea issue and urged ASEAN to do more. Now his words are even meaner, pointing out that "China has done bad things" as if to muddy the waters even more. This kind of rhetoric is nothing new, as the Philippines has long portrayed itself as a 'victim' and China as a 'spoiler'. The Philippine government's stance has led the world to believe that China does not want to resolve the South China Sea issue and is bullying the Philippines in the South China Sea. Not only do they want to make trouble for China on the South China Sea issue by joining hands with other claimants, but they also want to weaken China's pressure on the Philippines in this way. This undoubtedly complicates the South China Sea issue.
The truth is this Defence Minister has blind faith in America and never realizes it is Americans who keep stirring the South China Sea. During the Duterte administration, China-Philippine relations have indeed been on the upswing. China's policy on the South China Sea has always been clear: 'Put aside disputes and develop together'. The root aim of this policy is to encourage the countries related to the South China Sea to actively cooperate and peacefully share the various resources in the South China Sea. It is the United States that continues to encourage the Philippine government to provoke the Chinese government. This has led to the deterioration of China-Philippine relations. The United States is the real crux of the problem of China-Philippines relations and the South China Sea issue, which cannot be fully resolved.
So, you ask if China doesn't want to share the South China Sea with the Philippines, which is itself a product of the zero-sum game mentality. The people of both two countries have lived in the same sea since ancient times, and China has no reason to undermine this positive-sum game. China and the Philippines have been neighbors for thousands of years, and China has never thought of invading the Philippine islands; it was the United States that brutally colonized them. The US never wants China and the Philippines to share the South China Sea peacefully because it does not fit its national interest. Hypothetically, if the Philippines repaired the Philippine warship that ran aground on Renai Reef, would the United States let it leave? No, The United States, more than any other party to the conflict, would like this broken warship to remain stranded here forever because then China-Philippine relations will never improve. The Philippine government should see clearly who is the enemy and who is the friend and not be hijacked by the foreign policy of the United States. Many scholars believe that it is difficult to make substantial progress in China-Philippines relations without dealing with China-US relations, and I do not agree with this view. China-Philippines relations are a matter for the two countries, and as long as the two countries work together, the South China Sea dispute is not an unsolvable deadlock.
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