Metro Manila, Philippines – China’s recent show of force at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal was nothing more than posturing meant to cover up its embarrassment after two of its vessels collided earlier this month, the National Maritime Council (NMC) said.
“Actually, yung nakikita namin yan, after March yan, noong 11 August, na sobrang napahiya sila dahil sa dalawang Chinese vessels na nabanggaan,” NMC spokesperson Undersecretary Alexander Lopez said in an interview with NewsWatch Plus.[Translation: What we are seeing came after August 11, when they were deeply embarrassed because two of their vessels collided.] Lopez said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) was able to confirm the unusual increase of Chinese vessels after the incident.“Kaya yung pagdami na na-monitor ng ating AFP… nakita nila na there was an increased presence of Chinese vessels. Talaga ito yung focus nila.”[Translation: That’s why the AFP was able to monitor the increase in Chinese vessels. This really became their focus.]
‘Parada lang’
According to Lopez, the deployment was more about appearances than aggression.“So nakita natin d’yan, posturing sila. Parang gusto nilang mabawi yung kahihiyan nila. At actually, ang kanilang targeted audience naman is domestic.”[Translation: So what we saw was posturing. They just want to recover from their embarrassment. And actually, their target audience is domestic.] He added that troops on the ground noticed that the presence was only temporary.“Ayun nga dumami… pero ngayon sir wala na. Parang nagpakita lang sila, parang parada lang sila ng ganyan. After a while, umalis din sila.”[Translation: Yes, there was an increase, but now they’re gone. They just showed up, like a parade. After a while, they left]
No confrontation
Lopez also clarified that Philippine forces stationed at Ayungin did not encounter Chinese personnel directly.Even the sight of mounted weapons on Chinese Coast Guard fast boats was seen as part of the same show.“While it is unusual kasi Coast Guard normally hindi naman ganun… pero ang tingin para namin yan, pagpapakita ng gilas. Again, the target audience there is domestic,” said Lopez. [Translation: While it is unusual because Coast Guards don’t normally operate that way… we see it as showing off. Again, the target audience is domestic.] Lopez said there was no need for a diplomatic protest as the incident was not alarming.“Insofar as protesting, no need eh. Kasi again, nakita naman namin, we are not even alarmed… Pinapanood nga lang namin sila.” [Translation: Insofar as protesting, there’s no need. We are not even alarmed… We’re just watching them.] Instead, he emphasized that China should respect the Philippines’ sovereignty, citing the 2016 Arbitral Ruling that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
China responds
Beijing, for its part, accused the Philippines of provocation.In a statement carried by state news agency Xinhua on Aug. 22, the China Coast Guard “urged the Philippines to immediately stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations,” and vowed to carry out law enforcement in the waters of Ren’ai Jiao (China’s name for Ayungin Shoal).
