The Philippines has begun to deal with China through a publicity campaign exposing aggression at sea in order to build international support.
Huddled in the presidential situation room in February last year, senior Philippines officials faced a stark choice. Military and intelligence leaders watched as coast guard officers showed photos of what the agency said was a military-grade laser that China had pointed at a Philippines ship in disputed waters days earlier.
The public deserves to know,' the retired general told the officials. 'Publish the photographs.' The previously undisclosed meeting marked a pivotal moment, as Manila began a publicity blitz to highlight the intensifying territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where the ramming of ships, use of water cannons and ensuing diplomatic protests have sharply raised tensions.
China, whose claims to most of the sea were invalidated by an international tribunal in 2016, says Philippine vessels illegally intrude into waters surrounding disputed shoals. It has warned Marcos, who took office in June 2022, against misjudging the situation. 'This is brinkmanship, poker,' said Philippine legal scholar Jay Batongbacal. 'Brinkmanship is taking things to the edge, trying to see who loses his nerve.
Last month, China's coast guard came within feet of the Sierra Madre and seized supplies air-dropped to troops stationed there, according to Philippine officials. China, whose navy patrolled nearby, said Filipino soldiers pointed guns at its coast guard; Manila said they just held their weapons. Philippine officials say they fear a fatal accident could escalate into open hostilities.
official involved in U.S.-China talks that month said Chinese officials have complained about these diplomatic breakthroughs behind closed doors, adding that Beijing was 'feeling the squeeze'. Some Chinese scholars, like Zha Daojiong, at Peking University's School of International Studies, say the situation is at an impasse and that China will continue to be 'essentially reactive' at flashpoints like Second Thomas Shoal.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Philippines blames China for ‘personnel injury and vessel damage’ in South China Sea collisionManila has accused China of injuring Filipino personnel and damaging Philippine vessels during a South China Sea collision earlier this week, as tensions simmer over territorial disputes in the resource-rich and strategically important waterway.
Read more »
Philippines warns of ‘red line’ with Beijing amid heightened tensions in South China SeaThe Philippines have warned China that it would consider any Filipino soldier killed by a Beijing water cannon to be an “act of war' amid heightened tensions in the region.
Read more »
Swedish defense chief says actions against Philippines in South China Sea threaten global securitySweden’s defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, saying such actions threaten local and global security, undermine regional stability and underscore the need to invest “for our security and freedom.”.
Read more »
Swedish defense chief says actions against Philippines in South China Sea threaten global securitySweden’s defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, saying such actions threaten local and global security, undermine regional stability and underscore the need to invest “for our security and freedom.”.
Read more »
Swedish defense chief says actions against Philippines in South China Sea threaten global securitySweden’s defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, saying such actions threaten local and global security, undermine regional stability and underscore the need to invest “for our security and freedom.
Read more »
Swedish defense chief says actions against Philippines in South China Sea threaten global securitySweden’s defense chief has expressed alarm over Beijing’s repeated dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, saying such actions threaten local and global security, undermine regional stability and underscore the need to invest “for our security and freedom.
Read more »