Ito naman yung pagkaintindi ko base sa timeline, as quoted sa news:
This annotated map shows the path of five Chinese maritime militia ships passing through the Union Banks in the Spratly islands during the first three weeks of March 2020 - last year. (This includes the Whitsun Reef or Juan Felipe Reef where the ~220 Chinese militia vessels as reported last March 21, 2021.)
January 22, 2021: The Coast Guard Law was passed, which allowed CCG ships to use lethal force on foreign ship that do not obey orders to leave Chinese waters. It would take effect on February 1, 2021.
(The Philippines will not protest before the United Nations about this new CCG law that allows the Chinese coast guard to use force against foreign boats in the South China Sea, Manila’s top diplomat said on Feb. 1, 2021. while announcing plans to meet with American officials later this month to “iron out” differences over a key military pact.)
February 9, 2021: For this, the Philippines will deploy more naval assets in the West Philippine Sea amid China’s “very alarming” and “very irresponsible” law allowing its coast guard to fire on foreign vessels in contested waters, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.
(Before the end of March, China already launched a month of military exercises in the South China Sea and accused foreign countries of heightening tensions by increasing their military presence in the contested waters. But these activities are also aimed at communicating Beijing’s resolve and deterring foreign powers. China’s bid to assert its expansive maritime and territorial claims have driven up tensions in the South China Sea in recent years, drawing in non-claimant states like the U.S., France, and Japan.)
Feb. 28, 2021: China’s first batch of donated Sinovac vaccine arrives in the Philippines.
March 7, 2021: The Chinese incursion into Julian Felipe Reef with 220 militia vessels was first reported by the Philippine Coast Guard.
March 21, 202
1: the Philippines files a diplomatic protest over the Chinese fleet.
March 23, 2021: Another batch of donated Sinovac vaccine arrives.
China is strictly following their existing national laws and the 9-dash-line, asserts its "sovereighty+sovereign rights" on the disputed areas, while we follow international law ( Law-Of-The-Sea via UNCLOS) with only "sovereign rights" over our EEZ. We don't have sovereignty" over our EEZ, only jurisdiction. We don't own it but entitled to defend it against trespassers, because we have the sole right to possess it by law - to fish, acquire its resources, etc. It's two different understandings we should clearly understand.
Both parties contradict with their beliefs on their "rights" on the West Philippine Sea. But when it comes to issues outside this "dispute", like the pandemic, we are in good terms.
Our other allies doesn't like what China is doing, and on standby when we need support. And China knows that.
But we haven't done anything but plea with China's activities in the WPS and using DIPLOMACY.
The answer to the thread question is "No", because it has nothing to do with the vaccines - even if it looks like it. It doesn't really matter. With or without their pandemic donations, their presence in our EEZ without courtesy of informing us beforehand is just a sign that they can do what they please in these areas and say whatever they like to getaway with it. It hasn't changed ever since we won the dispute - on paper! Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio is only reminding the government of its duties. China's expansion and data gathering continuous at the WPS.
We need to begin defending our "sovereign right" by any means - like what they are doing. We need to make sure our fisherman can freely navigate our EEZ and protected against aggression from trespassers. We need to be ready for any type of military confrontation like skirmishes. That's the risk we have to take if conditions are unavoidable. Skirmishes doesn't always mean "war using intense armed conflict". Though in reality, we can't afford one, yet it has already started in a different form. We need to send them a message that we're taking care of business and firm with the laws we believe. It's also a form of diplomacy.
...Looking into it, China is neither a friend nor an enemy. We're just caught in-between misunderstandings of national and international laws against a superpower. We're still on an on-going major crisis with regards to the pandemic, and some people implies that China (which initially recovered from COVID-19) is taking advantage of the situation. That's easy to say because we're on the side of International Law. But if you place yourself on the Chinese' stand, you'll also say we're just doing our job because that's what our country wants, because we're following our rights of the South China Sea based on "our" laws. The EEZ you are talking about is ours! We only believe in our laws, not yours. That's always the argument between China and the Philippines.