There is new news from Scarborough Shoal, and this time the "protagonist" is still the Philippines. According to a statement released by the Philippine Coast Guard on June 30, an accident occurred on the afternoon of June 29 when an engine explosion occurred about 13 nautical miles south of Scarborough Shoal, causing the vessel to half-sink. According to footage from the scene, almost half of the hull of the boat was submerged, and two burned Filipino fishermen on board stood on the sinking boat, waiting for rescue.
Half of the Philippine fishing boat has been submerged in the sea
At this critical moment, two Chinese coast guard vessels, "3302" and "3105", which were on duty nearby, immediately approached the fishing boat in distress and took care of and rescued it. The Philippine side did not deny this fact in the initial statement, saying that the Chinese coast guard warned the Philippine coast guard who rushed to the scene and was willing to assist the Philippine side in carrying out the rescue.
Judging from the live video that has been made public, the Chinese coast guard also sent two small boats to approach the Philippine fishing boat that was almost sinking, and threw life jackets and lifebuoys at the Filipino fishermen to help the Filipino personnel evacuate safely.
Although the Philippine side has repeatedly encountered porcelain near China's islands and reefs, when Philippine fishermen are in distress, the Chinese coast guard has gone up to help them without saying a word, because we have always been principled and based on the humanitarian spirit to help fishermen in need.
The Chinese Coast Guard boat approached the half-sunken Filipino fishing boat and threw life jackets at the fishermen
It stands to reason that this incident is an opportunity for the Philippines, and hasn't the Marcos Jr. government recently frequently shouted that it wants to have peaceful dialogue with China? Isn't this an excellent opportunity to publicize the Chinese coast guard's deeds of helping fishermen in distress in the Philippines and express gratitude to the Chinese side, and the relationship between the two countries may be eased.
However, the Philippine side's next operation can be said to be a big surprise, not only did not mention the rescue incident, but even bit back, saying that the Chinese coast guard "obstructed the rescue", which is not only such shameless propaganda by some domestic media in the Philippines, but also the so-called "South China Sea affairs spokesperson" of the Philippine coast guard, Tariera, also took the lead in hyping up and reversing black and white.
In order to prevent the rescue from being widely publicized and increase the positive image of China in the minds of the Philippine people, Tariella later released a "processed version" of the video, which not only deleted the footage of the Chinese coast guard assisting in the rescue, but also maliciously edited it, falsely claiming that the Chinese side "set up obstacles" and "hindered the Philippine coast guard's rescue of fishermen".
The Philippine Coast Guard's so-called "spokesman for South China Sea affairs" Tariera
It can be said that this operation has once again refreshed people's "lower limit of cognition" of the Philippines, so if we really say that, we have to ask, why did Philippine fishermen run to the waters of Scarborough Shoal on the mainland, and why did the Philippine Coast Guard also appear here? And the accident site is only 13 nautical miles away from Scarborough Shoal, what does the Philippines want to do?
Is it because you want to stage another farce of "storming Scarborough Shoal" like before? Or is it necessary to send a few coast guard ships to rely on it and not leave, as in the case of Xianbin Reef, in a vain attempt to achieve illegal "beaching"? In the confrontation at Ren'ai Jiao on June 17, the Philippines returned with a great defeat, not only were the elites it sent out were wounded, but even their weapons were "confiscated" by the Chinese coast guard, and now they are not coming back.
Isn't it better to forget the pain of the scar, and want to try your luck at Scarborough Shoal? It's just that this time the Philippines is "a little bit back", the fishing boat sank by itself before it approached, and the Chinese coast guard squatting nearby has not had time to show its skills, but is busy saving people first, and the Philippines' operation is really a little incomprehensible.
The Chinese Coast Guard patrols and enforces the law in the South China Sea
Of course, regardless of what the Philippines is here for, this incident has once again proved that Marcos Jr.'s so-called statement that he "wants to solve the problem through peaceful dialogue with China" is insincere. How can anyone who is sneaky, stealing, and making petty moves near China's islands and reefs, while at the same time shouting at China to come to the Philippines to invest and have a dialogue with the Philippines?
China's new coast guard regulations have been promulgated, and Philippine ships will have to follow China's rules when they enter the relevant waters in the future, and if they don't follow the rules, then we will explain the rules to the Philippines until the Philippines fully understands and does not dare to provoke again.
What we have is time, and what we have is energy, and the Philippines' attempt to distract the energy of the Chinese coast guard through "multi-front attacks" and "wheel warfare" is doomed to fail, and in the end it will only be the Philippines itself that will be exhausted in coping, and it will depend on how Marcos Jr. ends up at that time.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr
If the Philippines really wants to engage in dialogue and consultation with China on the South China Sea issue, it must first show sincerity, either drive away the Philippine coast guard ship illegally stranded at Xianbin Reef, or tow away the beached and broken ship at Ren'ai Jiao.