Chinese naval tug appears at Ren'ai Reef, Philippine vessels intrude another reef to "lure the tiger away", China Coast Guard intercepts

According to ship AIS signals, on the morning of the 26th, three Philippine coast guard and government ships set off from the Philippines mainland, heading east into the South China Sea. Originally, all parties thought these ships might be going to Ren'ai Reef for resupply, but around 7 o'clock in the morning, they suddenly turned 180 degrees south of the Yuhu Reef and attempted to intrude into our Yuhu Reef.

However, since the Chinese Coast Guard's 5304 ship has been tracking and monitoring these Philippine vessels, it took decisive action upon detecting their intentions and intercepted them on the spot. As of around 1 p.m. on the 26th, the Philippine vessels were still slowly moving within about 1-3 nautical miles east of the Yuhu Reef, with a speed of only 1-5 knots, and their course almost seemed to be circling in place, making their intentions unclear.

It is worth noting that Yuhu Reef is located between the Philippines mainland and Ren'ai Reef, and is approximately 100 kilometers from both locations, acting as a midpoint between the two. Therefore, many experts speculate that after failing to provoke in Huangyan Island and having their personnel stranded at Ren'ai Reef without food supplies for nearly three months, the Philippines suddenly chose to intrude into Yuhu Reef, seemingly attempting to "lure the tiger away" to create an opportunity for them to forcibly supply Ren'ai Reef.

Meanwhile, on the morning of the 26th, a Philippine media reported that a Philippine military spokesperson confirmed that a Chinese naval tug had appeared at Ren'ai Reef. However, the Philippine military did not disclose more details, only stating that this one tug was not sufficient to pull out the warship illegally grounded at Ren'ai Reef, so they were not worried. However, if the Philippine military's statement is true, it proves that the situation in the waters near Ren'ai Reef is highly tense, and how it will develop in the future needs our continued attention.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841498617689226/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.