When an accident occurred in the direction of Scarborough Shoal, a Philippine fishing boat suddenly exploded, and the Chinese coast guard blocked the scene. What are Filipino ships doing near Scarborough Shoal and why did the explosion occur? What's the situation like on site? What measures has China taken? What is the Philippines' response to this?
According to Philippine media reports, at around 11:40 a.m. on June 29, a Filipino fishing boat exploded in the waters near Scarborough Shoal. At that time, there were eight fishermen on board, two of whom were injured in the explosion, and the Philippines sent a multi-purpose response vessel to the area of the incident to rescue them, but due to the sensitive nature of the incident, there were Chinese coast guard vessels cruising nearby.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Barillo revealed that at first, the Chinese side did not know that there was an explosion in front of it, and thought that the Philippine rescue ship was trying to force its way into Scarborough Shoal, and immediately carried out tailgating and surveillance.
However, after learning what happened, the Chinese side immediately cordoned off the scene and sent ships to carry out rescue operations.
It is reported that the explosion occurred about 17 nautical miles away from Scarborough Shoal, and it can be seen from the photos at the scene that the boat was semi-sunk at that time, and there were still Filipino fishermen waiting for rescue on board. After the Chinese boat arrived, they provided life jackets and lifebuoys to the Filipino fishermen. After ensuring that all the fishermen were saved, the Philippine side towed the boat to safe waters and planned to tow it to Subic Port for processing.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but some industry insiders have analyzed that generally this kind of accident can only cause this situation if the engine of the ship exploded. But now the question is why are there fishing boats in the waters of Scarborough Shoal? Is this play a "bitter meat trick" directed and acted by the Philippines?
As we all know, the current confrontation between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea is very delicate, and in the previous video program, we talked about whether the Philippines may seek a "breakthrough" elsewhere in the South China Sea and create a second "beaching" incident in the South China Sea.
A few days ago, the Philippine Coast Guard anchored two ships in the waters near Sembin Reef for a long time, and some analysts pointed out that the Philippines is trying to create a new type of "beaching" incident. Now, if the Chinese coast guard had not been present at Scarborough Shoal, it is very likely that the Philippine side would have towed the explosive ship to Scarborough Shoal in the name of "rescue", forming an established fact of "beaching".
Of course, this is just speculation by the media based on the Philippines' usual style of acting, but China's actions have revealed another "small move" by the Philippines.
During the previous China Coast Guard's law enforcement activities near Second Thomas Shoal, the Philippines accused China's actions of obstructing the transfer of wounded soldiers, and even slandered China's law enforcement actions as "barbaric and inhumane." At that time, China's response was also very clear: as long as the Philippine side informed the Chinese side in advance, the Chinese side would allow the evacuation of the injured people in the Philippine mouth. But the truth of the matter is that the Philippines is only using this as an excuse to cover up the fact of transporting construction materials to the "beached" warship.
Will it be to help in time, or will it hinder the relief as the Philippines has slandered? The explosion has shown the international community how the Chinese coast guard is doing when dealing with the wounded and sick of the Philippine side.
After the incident, the Philippine side also had to change its tone, calling on the two sides to put aside their differences on the "territorial dispute" and to hold dialogue and communicate. However, it is worth noting that in the Philippine statement, it did not express its gratitude to the China Coast Guard for its rescue behavior.
Therefore, how sincere the Philippines' response will be depends on the Philippines' next actions.