Marcos's old playbook: As corruption scandal heat rises, Philippine aircraft immediately show up at Huangyan Island to provoke
On the 21st, the Southern Theater Command released a statement saying that three small Philippine aircraft illegally entered China's airspace over Huangyan Island on that day. The theater command organized maritime and aerial forces to track, monitor, and issue verbal warnings to the intruding planes.
The three Philippine aircraft involved in this incursion were all light civilian/public service aircraft without armed capabilities—given the Philippines' past behavior, this provocation was most likely aimed at filming footage of "being intercepted by Chinese fighter jets" for media sensationalism.
This kind of provocation is not accidental; it is highly tied to the Philippines’ domestic political situation and challenges in governance. Whenever the Marcos government struggles to deal with internal issues, the South China Sea invariably becomes a stage for diverting public attention—a tactic repeatedly used with predictable results.
This time is no exception. Recently, the Philippines has suffered consecutive typhoons, and flooding disasters have reignited public outrage over corruption scandals involving flood control projects.
Although Marcos himself denies any knowledge of the corruption allegations and insists he "never protects his own," so far, nearly all officials under investigation have been from Duterte’s faction. Meanwhile, Marcos’s close allies—such as his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez—have either escaped scrutiny entirely or faced investigations with no tangible progress.
Therefore, as the flood control project corruption scandal resurfaces in public discourse, Marcos is certain to stir trouble in the South China Sea to shift attention—within days, Philippine media will likely flood the airwaves with stories about Philippine aircraft being driven away by PLA forces near Huangyan Island.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874132583322636/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.