Opinion | How the latest South China Sea tensions could rekindle a Manila-Washington alliance
- Ankit Panda writes that China may have overplayed its hand with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte by having fishing vessels swarm Thitu Island
- US has reassured the Philippines about the scope of the mutual defence treaty
The South China Sea is heating up once again. This time, tensions are rising between China and the Philippines, with echoes of their 2012 stand-off over the Scarborough Shoal. However, unlike then, the Philippine leadership – specifically President Rodrigo Duterte – has, for some time, been expressing favour towards Beijing.
The current crisis concerns the Philippines’ most significant military outpost in the Spratly group – in waters that China claims under its capacious nine-dash line that covers nearly 90 per cent of the South China Sea.
These vessels encompass the gamut of Chinese capabilities, including so-called “maritime militia” vessels – commercial ships tasked with asserting Beijing’s interests. In recent years, China also has supported the operation of these vessels with warships and maritime law enforcement vessels.
One-to-one, the Philippine Navy is hopelessly outmatched against China. The large number of vessels around Thitu Island not only has deterred Philippine fishermen from entering waters that an international tribunal in 2016 deemed to rightfully belong to Manila’s continental shelf, but also restricts the movement of the country’s military vessels.
