Manila won’t be baited into escalating sea row
Published on: Saturday, June 22, 2024
By: Manila Times
Law enforcers of China’s coastguard inspect near a grounded Philippine navy transport ship last month.
MANILA: The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not be baited by China into firing the first shot that will trigger open hostilities in the West Philippine Sea, despite increasingly aggressive action by the Chinese coast guard in blocking resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal.
Navy Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, said on Thursday China is trying to push the AFP into responding with force.
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“Their actions are escalatory but this will always be below the threshold of conflict, because China’s strategy is to win without fighting,” Trinidad said.
“We have told our troops, use of force for mission accomplishment is not authorized unless in self defense,” he said.
Last Monday, the Chinese coast guard rammed, towed, boarded Philippines vessels resupplying the soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin.
Trinidad said the Philippine military’s actions “will always be guided by the rules of engagement ... and within the bounds of international law. We are here to assert our sovereignty, we are here to ensure our sovereign rights are protected.”
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He described the Chinese coast guard as a “band of barbarians” who “have no right to wear the uniform.”
“Coast guardsmen are supposed to be responsible for the safety of life at sea — their (China Coast Guard) actions endanger life at sea,” he said.
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“It does not speak well of a country that wants to be a global power,” Trinidad said.
Footage released by the AFP Wednesday showed Chinese coast guard sailors armed with knives, an axe and other weapons.
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner said the “outnumbered” Filipino crew had been unarmed and had fought with their “bare hands.”
A Filipino sailor lost a thumb in the clash, in which the Chinese coast guard confiscated or destroyed Philippine equipment, including guns.
The footage showed small boats crewed by Chinese sailors shouting, waving knives and using sticks to hit an inflatable boat as a siren blares.
A voice speaking Tagalog can be heard in one clip saying someone had “lost a finger.”
The AFP footage was in stark contrast to photos released by Beijing’s state media on Wednesday, which did not show Chinese forces wielding weapons.
Beijing has insisted that its coast guard behaved in a “professional and restrained” way during the confrontation and claimed “no direct measures” were taken against Filipino personnel.
But in a clip shared by the AFP, a Chinese sailor standing on the deck of one of the boats can clearly be seen waving an axe.
Another clip shows a Chinese coast guard sailor striking the inflatable boat with a stick. A second man can also be seen stabbing the boat with a knife.
The AFP said an axe-wielding sailor had “threatened to injure” a Filipino soldier, while others were “explicitly threatening to harm” Filipino troops.
The Filipino sailors, wearing brown camouflage with helmets and vests, are not carrying weapons in the clips.
“Amidst this violent confrontation, the CCG (China Coast Guard) also deployed tear gas, intensifying the chaos and confusion, while continuously blaring sirens to further disrupt communication,” the caption said.
Manila has accused Beijing of an “act of piracy” against its forces.
It has also demanded the return of items “looted” by the Chinese side, including seven guns, and reparations for damaged equipment.
Analysts say Beijing is escalating confrontations with the Philippines in a bid to push it out of the South China Sea.
Jay Batongbacal, director for the Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea in Manila, told Agence France-Presse that China’s forces could be poised to seize the grounded Sierra Madre.
“The deployment of their forces at present around the Sierra Madre and then the many reefs around the Kalayaan island group is indicative that they’re ready to do it,” he said.
The United States has said that “an armed attack” against Philippine public vessels, aircraft, armed forces and coast guard anywhere in the South China Sea would require it to come to Manila’s defense under a treaty between the two countries.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “emphasized that [China’s] actions undermine regional peace and stability” in a call with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Wednesday, according to the State Department.
They also “underscored the United States’ ironclad commitments to the Philippines under our Mutual Defense Treaty,” Blinken said.
Another analyst told AFP that this week’s clashes “brought us perilously close” to a situation in which the United States would be required to intervene militarily.
“The Philippines will likely need to continue resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, one way or another,” said Duan Dang, a Vietnam-based maritime security analyst.
“Backing down and accepting Beijing’s terms regarding these operations would mean relinquishing sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone,” he said.
The Senate has requested the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for a briefing on recent events in the West Philippine Sea.
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