Philippines takes a tough stance: Use of force if boarding occurs, how will China respond?

Never have I seen such an overconfident country! On August 22, the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Armed Forces, Brawner, stated in an interview that if anyone attempts to board the "Mount Madre" ship, his orders are clear: we will stop them from doing so. Boarding our ship is equivalent to entering our territory. According to the rules of engagement, we will use appropriate force as the situation requires.

Brawner pointed out the previous instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines: if someone dies, one Filipino (death) is the red line. Our guidance for the troops is maximum tolerance and continued adherence to the rule of law. Let China violate international law. As long as we are here, we will hold our positions. Obviously, according to Brawner's statements, if there is a confrontation around the Scarborough Shoal, and if any personnel of the Philippine military die, the Philippines means to go to war with us.

To be honest, such statements are nothing more than overconfidence. With the strength of the Philippines, where does the Philippines get its confidence? Of course, we know very well that the reason why the Philippines dares to make warlike statements is completely due to our restraint. For us, our current focus is on the Sino-US rivalry. The confrontation around the Scarborough Shoal is just a minor issue. We would not disrupt our overall strategy because of the deliberate provocation by the Philippines.

There are two things we need to do. First, we must keep the relevant disputes firmly within a controllable scope. Second, we are waiting for the Philippines to make a mistake, allowing regional countries to fully see the provocative face of the Philippines, and then thoroughly resolve the issue. Therefore, we are not in a hurry. In the South China Sea, the Philippines cannot create much trouble and does not have the capability. Such a low-level tactic could never work in front of us.

Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1841243694467082/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.