The English-language editorial
came a day after the Philippines launched giant 10-day war games with
the US and Australia, partly aimed as a warning shot to Beijing amid
competing claims in the South China Sea, home to vital shipping routes.
"Of
all the countries involved in territorial disputes in the South China
Sea, the Philippines is the one with the most tricks up its sleeves, but
none of its tricks work," the Global Times said.
"Can anyone
believe that China can be bluffed to make compromises when others show
off their military muscle?" added the paper, affiliated with the
Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily."We will simply find it laughable while imagining Philippine personnel stumbling after US forces."
Beijing claims sovereignty over most of the resource-rich and strategically important South China Sea, including areas close to other Asian nations, using vague demarcation lines that first appeared on Chinese maps in the 1940s.
China has expanded its presence in disputed parts of the sea in recent years by embarking on giant reclamation work on reefs and islets, turning some into islands capable of hosting military aircraft landing strips.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims.
In efforts to deter China, the militarily weak Philippines has encouraged longtime ally the US to increase its presence in the country and its coastal waters through expanded and more frequent defence exercises.
But the Global Times editorial dismissed their effectiveness, saying: "After being the 'cute little submissive' of the US all these years, Manila has gained only a handful of second-hand weapons and an empty sense of security, let alone any real enhancement of its army's combat capability."
The insulting
tone came after a commentary on China's official news agency Xinhua
earlier this year likened the Philippines to a "crying baby" for seeking
international support against Beijing's island-building, denouncing its
efforts as "pathetic".
The United States, which
has repeatedly voiced concerns about Chinese actions in the South China
Sea, again denounced Beijing's behaviour.
"I think that China is
responsible for the rise of tensions and provocations in the South China
Sea," said Admiral Harry Harris, commander of the US Pacific Fleet,
during a conference in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. In an interview with AFP last week, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said the world should fear China's actions in the disputed sea, warning they could lead to military conflict.
Philippine
military chief General Gregorio Catapang on Monday released what he
said were satellite photos of intense recent Chinese construction over
seven reefs and shoals in the Spratly archipelago, reinforcing images
from a US-based company earlier this month.
China
rejects criticism of its reclamation and construction works and asserts
it has no need to justify activity on its sovereign territory.
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