After ship collisions, experts say China testing Philippine resolve, US ties: "China is known to employ dangerous and aggressive manicuring as a tactic"
That latest literal run-ins between Chinese and Philippine vessels came early Monday, near Sabina Shoal, a disputed bit of land in the contentious sea. Two ships were damaged; no one was injured this time.
A regional expert who is one of the closest observers of China’s military activities in the region said it was clear China is to blame.
“Based on existing information, notwithstanding the video put out by [the Chinese Coast Guard], it’s clear that the Chinese were responsible. Their maneuvers against PCG [Philippine Coast Guard] vessels were aggressive and in contravention of COLREGs (collision regulations),” Collin Koh, at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University wrote, in an email.
“As it stands for now, Beijing appears to want to compel Manila to relinquish Sabina Shoal,” he said. “Manila isn’t keen to allow a repeat of the Scarborough Shoal incident in 2012, and domestic stakes are heavy to ensure that the PCG sustains this faceoff with Chinese vessels in the shoal in order to prevent Beijing’s takeover. Clearly the Philippines has so far used only PCG to do the job, and not yet tapped the navy because it sought to avoid escalation, and to prevent the use of naval forces to play into the Chinese narrative.”
Two other regional experts said that while the cause of the most recent incident itself may be difficult to judge, China was certainly trying to push the Philippines out of its own waters and test its relationship with the US.
