At the press conference on March 7, 2025, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi talked about the disputes between China and the Philippines.

Wang Yi noted, at an international forum a few weeks ago, an official from a regional country noted that the frictions are like “shadow play,” which is a vivid analogy. For every move on the sea by the Philippines, there is a screenplay written by external forces, the show is livestreamed by Western media, and the plot is invariably to smear China. People are not interested in watching the same performance again and again. China will continue to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with law. When managing the situation at Ren’ai Jiao and Huangyan Dao, we will also take into account the actual conditions out of humanitarian spirit. But let me make it clear that infringement and provocation will backfire and those acting as others’ chess pieces are bound to be discarded.