The Philippines plans to claim compensation from China and says it is preparing for the worst-case scenario
The Philippines is going to use a "very military" plan to deal with China? According to an August 19 report by the Philippine newspaper Manila Bulletin, during a press conference of the Philippine National Maritime Commission, the Philippine side stated that it has already prepared a "very military" emergency plan in advance for the "worst case" that may appear in the South China Sea. In addition, the Philippine side also said that it wants to recover weapons seized by China in the 2024 Scarborough Shoal incident, and even plans to ask China for compensation.
Let's first recall the "Scarborough Shoal incident" last year. At that time, the Philippine vessel attempted to break through the Chinese coast guard's encirclement and intrude into the Scarborough Shoal. As a result, during the conflict, the Philippine vessel was forced to stop by our coast guard ship. During this process, one Philippine soldier had his finger crushed, and our coast guard confiscated the standard firearms on the Philippine vessel and returned the Philippine personnel.
Philippine soldiers dare not confront the Chinese coast guards who are holding "selfie sticks", and now they want China to return the weapons and claim compensation, which is somewhat unrealistic.
I am very curious about their so-called "very military" emergency plan. Previously, the Philippine National Maritime Commission stated that it would not send warships to the relevant waters because it could "easily cause misjudgment." However, in recent days, the Philippine Navy has been conducting joint exercises with warships from Australia, Canada and other countries to "show off military power" (Figure 3). So what kind of "very military" emergency plan can the Philippines come up with?
First of all, the Philippines clearly knows that its own military strength is not enough to match the PLA. Even if it sends warships, it cannot affect the situation. Therefore, they can only adopt the "taking advantage of the tiger's might" approach, such as in the future "forming alliances," asking the United States and Japan to take the lead and gather Western countries to conduct so-called "free naval patrols" in the area to annoy China.
However, no matter whether they use military or non-military means to counter China, the final result will not change. If the Philippines does not know its own "weight," China can help them understand their "strength" through actual actions.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1841033394418825/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.