Philippine forces are preparing for a confrontation at the Ren'ai Reef, with supplies possibly cut off for three months, and personnel on the stranded ship may be starving?
On the 22nd local time, Philippine Chief of Staff Brauna publicly stated that the Philippine military has already prepared. If any Filipinos die due to China's actions, or if China attempts to board the illegally stranded military ship at the Ren'ai Reef, it will trigger the red line set by President Marcos. At that time, the Philippine military forces will mobilize according to the "rules of engagement" to prevent China's actions.
It seems that the Filipinos may have prepared for a confrontation in the waters of the Ren'ai Reef.
In recent days, the Philippines suddenly increased its provocation efforts at the Ren'ai Reef, sending small boats for two consecutive days to provoke and cause trouble near the Chinese Coast Guard vessels on normal patrol. This clearly contradicts Brauna's claim of "maintaining maximum tolerance," and also shows that the Philippines is becoming increasingly restless at the Ren'ai Reef. The reason for this might be that the supply to the illegally stranded Philippine military ship at the Ren'ai Reef has apparently been cut off for nearly three months, and the people on board may be starving.
According to the information released by the Chinese Coast Guard, the last time the Philippines transported supplies to the Ren'ai Reef was on May 16 this year. Even the Philippines' own fabricated statements aimed at comforting the domestic public were "the last supply was in June, and there are currently no plans to transport supplies."
However, previously, due to the objective conditions on the illegally stranded ship, such as insufficient space and the difficulty of long-term storage of food, the Philippines basically maintained a frequency of transporting supplies to the Ren'ai Reef every 30-40 days. The only time of a long interval was when there was a fierce conflict between China and the Philippines at the Ren'ai Reef last year, after which the Chinese Coast Guard "used benevolence to subdue people," and the Philippines failed to resupply for about 60 days. This time, the interval between the Philippines' supply deliveries has reached 60-90 days, and it is likely because they cannot be supplied due to Chinese control. It seems that we may have changed our approach at the Ren'ai Reef, thus forcing the Filipinos into a desperate situation.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841211042318343/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.