SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST | Published November 5, 2024
The Philippine military chief has reiterated calls for Beijing to compensate for damages and return rifles seized during a violent confrontation in the disputed South China Sea that left a Filipino sailor with a severed thumb.
General Romeo Brawner Jnr said his side was demanding payment for two inflatable boats damaged by Chinese forces in the encounter on June 17 when the Filipino navy was delivering supplies to troops stationed at a military outpost in the waterway.
“We demanded the Chinese to pay us P60 million (US$1.02 million) for the damage and for the return of our firearms. That is on top of the injury that was caused on one navy sailor who lost his thumb … China has yet to respond,” Brawner told reporters on Monday.
He added that doctors had managed to reattach the severed thumb of Seaman First Class Underwater Operator Jeffrey Facundo.
Beijing has been accused of employing aggressive tactics against Philippine ships in the South China Sea, such as firing water cannons and using high-intensity lasers, in a bid to assert its territorial claims in the contested waters.
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SOURCE: www.scmp.com
RELATED: The Philippines’ Near-Standoff with China at Sabina Shoal: Bolstering Preventive Deployment
A China Coast Guard ship is seen from the Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra during a supply mission to Sabina Shoal in the disputed waters of the South China Sea on 26 August 2024. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa / AFP)
FULCRUM Analysis on Southeast Asia | Published November 4, 2024
The Philippines has tried a new tactic of preventive deployment at Sabina Shoal but more must be done.
The Philippines and China have nearly sparked a standoff at Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands. It began in April 2024 when the Philippines deployed Teresa Magbanua, a coast guard ship, to observe Chinese forces suspected of preparing to occupy the area. It ended in September when the Philippines withdrew Teresa Magbanua after Chinese vessels blockaded and rammed the ship. A replacement ship has since been sent, so far without any reports of harassment.
The Philippines’ deployment of a coast guard ship was a preventive measure to forestall a probable attempt at occupation of the shoal by an adversary. This is a new tactic, enabled by the maritime capabilities the country has gained in the past decade. The Philippines began to modernise its coast guard after the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff with China. That crisis erupted in part because Manila lacked a civilian maritime law enforcement asset available for dispatch then and instead deployed a military ship. As deploying a military ship (a “grey hull”) can be misconstrued as an act of war, it raised the tone of the 2012 encounter. A different scenario might have unfolded if Manila had deployed a coast guard ship (or a “white hull”) as these are traditionally regarded as benign.
Now, Manila can also employ other tactics, such as proactively using its coast guard to establish presence rather than merely to ascertain an adversary’s actions. However, coast guard encounters are only marginally less tense than naval confrontations, especially because Beijing operates its coast guard like a second navy. Still, Manila’s tactical toolkit has expanded. In Sabina Shoal, the government seemed to be testing its new tactic.
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SOURCE: www.fulcrum.sg
RELATED: ‘Illegal, coercive’: Philippines, EU toughen stance vs aggression in South China Sea
This frame grab from handout video footage taken and released on April 30, 2024 by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) shows the Philippine Coast Guard ship BRP Bagacay (C) being hit by water cannon from Chinese coast guard vessels near the chinese-controlled Scarborough shoal in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The Philippines said the China Coast Guard fired water cannon on April 30 at two of its vessels, causing damage to one of them, during a patrol near a reef off the Southeast Asian country. Photo by Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP
THE PHILIPPINE STAR | Published November 1, 2024
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the European Union have moved beyond general language to explicitly condemn “illegal, coercive, aggressive and dangerous actions” in the South China Sea following high-level talks in Manila on Tuesday, October 29.
In a joint statement issued after their second maritime cooperation meeting, both the Philippines and the EU “welcomed frank and sincere diplomatic engagements” on South China Sea aggression. They also reiterated their opposition to the use of force in the contested waters.
This year, both parties’ reference to “illegal” and “coercive” actions in the South China Sea marks a shift from their 2023 statement, which only expressed concern over “unilateral actions” that threaten security without mentioning strong opposition to illegal activities.
The first round of maritime cooperation talks between the EU and the Philippines — officially called the “Sub-Committee Meeting on Maritime Cooperation” — was held last year in Brussels.
Without naming China, the Philippines and the EU on Tuesday “expressed serious concern over unilateral actions that endanger peace, security and stability” in the region. Both parties also linked recent incidents in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to three threats: seabed destruction, attacks on fisherfolk’s livelihoods, and threats to Philippine food security.
The Philippines thanked the EU for its “timely, consistent, and decisive statements” backing the country’s position in the maritime dispute. Both sides doubled down on their commitment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and demanded “full and faithful compliance” with the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration Award.
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SOURCE: www.philstar.com
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