The Philippines has warned China that any attempt to board or tow away its grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal would be crossing a “red line” after Manila detected a sharp rise in Chinese maritime activity around the disputed feature in the South China Sea.
Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for West Philippine Sea operations, told reporters on Tuesday that the military was closely monitoring a surge in Chinese maritime activity near the shoal, including the deployment of a navy tugboat for the first time.
He stressed that contingency plans were in place to respond to any attempt to remove or attack the BRP Sierra Madre – the ageing World War II-era ship deliberately grounded there in 1999 to serve as the Philippines’ military outpost.
“The commander-in-chief mentioned that the death of a Filipino will be grounds for invoking the MDT,” Trinidad said, referring to President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s earlier guidance on when Manila might seek to invoke its Mutual Defence Treaty with the United States. “This was amplified by the [Armed Forces’] chief of staff. This is now a red line.”
Any Chinese action to “remove the BRP Sierra Madre” would also be viewed as crossing that threshold, he added.
However, he said, “it is our assessment that that tugboat is for their own use in the event that the ships that are now inside Ayungin Shoal would run aground”.
Trinidad said Chinese activity around the shoal had risen sharply since August 20, increasing from an average of seven maritime militia vessels and two coastguard ships to about 20. Based on photos and videos taken by the armed forces, the Chinese vessels conducted sea manoeuvres using water cannons and drones, he said.
The number of ships had dropped but remained significant on Monday, he said, with the military tracking one large People’s Liberation Army-Navy tugboat, two China Coast Guard vessels and 13 maritime militia ships, including two or three rigid hull inflatable boats equipped with covered heavy-calibre cruiser weapons.
These were spotted some two to 2.5 nautical miles from the Second Thomas Shoal. Known in the Philippines as Ayungin, it is located around 105 nautical miles west from Palawan island and over 600 nautical miles from Hainan.
He disclosed that the Chinese inflatables “tried to come closer to BRP Sierra Madre twice [but] two of our [inflatables] were able to block them and drive them away and they complied”.
He slammed these actions as a part of China’s “salami slicing” strategy. “If we don’t call this out, they would like us to adapt to the new normal and accept their actions and their presence – which are all illegal, coercive and aggressive.”
China has long demanded the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre, asserting sovereignty over the Second Thomas Shoal – which it calls Ren’ai Jiao – as part of its sweeping claims in the South China Sea. Manila rejects this position, saying the vessel’s presence is a lawful assertion of its maritime rights, bolstered by a 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling that invalidated Beijing’s “nine-dash line” claim.
‘Control measures’
On Friday, the China Coast Guard said it had taken “control measures” against two Philippine vessels deployed from the BRP Sierra Madre near Ren’ai Jiao, releasing a short video of the encounter.
“The China Coast Guard will continue to carry out rights protection and law enforcement activities in the waters near Ren’ai Jiao in accordance with the law, resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” spokesman Gan Yu said.
In a separate statement the same day carried by state media, the coastguard urged Manila to “immediately stop all infringement activities, provocations and false accusations”, vowing to continue law enforcement operations around the shoal to “resolutely defend” China’s maritime rights.
In Manila, the military struck a defiant tone. Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr on Friday also noted the increased Chinese presence and attempts by inflatables to approach the BRP Sierra Madre. He said troops stationed on the vessel had been instructed to stop any boarding attempt using “appropriate force”.
“If they do that, we will prevent them from doing so. By boarding our ship, it’s like coming into our territory,” Brawner said.
Asked on Tuesday what Brawner meant by “appropriate force”, Trinidad declined to elaborate on the “operational details” for security reasons.
“There are already contingency plans in place for any possible eventuality [and] we do not dictate upon them, but we provide them sufficient flexibility,” he said. “We do not infringe on the decisions of the ground commanders when it comes to the safety of their men, their unit and other units. They have a certain flexibility when it comes to implementing the rules of engagement.”
Trinidad also downplayed concerns that the Chinese navy tugboat might be used to remove the grounded warship. “It will take more than a tugboat to pull out BRP Sierra Madre,” he said, noting that the vessel was “strongly anchored on corals”.
He also denied that the men on board the BRP Sierra Madre had low morale. “They are used to it. They have been jeering at the maritime militia and the Chinese coastguard. This only indicates that their morale is sky high,” he said, adding that they were also veterans of the Mindanao campaign against Islamic rebels.
“We are not here to provoke. We are not here to claim what is not ours. We are here merely to secure and to defend what is rightfully and legally ours,” he said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs last week reaffirmed that Manila’s rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre were covered by a Provisional Understanding agreement with China intended to prevent incidents at the Second Thomas Shoal.
“The Philippines will continue to implement the Provisional Understanding as agreed,” the department said, describing the missions as “routine humanitarian operations” conducted within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
