Two recent clashes around the Second Thomas Shoal, an underwater feature ruled by international tribunal in 2016 as part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, highlights China’s refusal to acknowledge that small states have their own agency in disputes with Beijing.

This feature of China’s foreign policy was aptly summed up in a piece by the nationalist Global Times, which concludes: “By escalating the tensions, the Philippines likely wants to draw support from the US, or the entire farce was staged by the US in the first place.”