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China agreed to back down, on Sunday, by allowing the Philippines to send food and supplies to their “outpost” on Second Thomas Shoal. Things recently got so out of hand that the barbaric tactics of the Chinese Coast Guard were described as a “pirate” style boarding. They swarmed over rubber supply boats with machetes and spears, while smashing the controls with an ax.
China reconsiders position
For a long time now, China has been harassing an extremely remote outpost of the Philippines. The whole world’s been watching the drama closely, which is why the Pooh Bear decided to reconsider his unpopular position.
After a big show of force by anchoring their “monster” Coast Guard warship in the area, Beijing decided to show a little “restraint.” Mostly, for public relations purposes.
A group of volcanic islands bearing the name St. Thomas Shoal is part of the Spratly chain and claimed by both China and the Philippines. Along with Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Since possession is nine-tenths of the law, as they say, Manila took possession.
A 'provisional arrangement' was reached for the Philippines to resupply the Sierra Madre, its military outpost on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, one of the region's most dangerous flashpoints https://t.co/p3j3JHOsJI pic.twitter.com/35dXodOvCS
— Financial Times (@FT) July 22, 2024
They did that by grounding a decrepit freighter on one of the atolls. There’s barely enough rocks and coral above the waves to keep the wreck stable, with not much more than a football field to walk around on.
Rumors say that it takes a truly spectacular screw-up to get a posting on St. Thomas Shoal. The small crew lives in misery and isolation with nothing to look forward to except the next boatload of groceries. For months, every time the supply boats show up, so do the Chinese.
They’ve been doing their best to starve out the Filipinos. The standard tactic of China was a squirt-gun battle with water cannons, trying to swamp the small supply boats. Every load of supplies came through a pitched battle and only a fraction of each load ever got delivered. Recently, things began to escalate.
A need to de-escalate
On Sunday, July 21, Chinese diplomats met with their counterparts in Manila to work out “provisional terms to replenish Filipino troops on the Second Thomas Shoal, which both countries claim as their own and where their forces have repeatedly clashed.”
There’s enough Chinese firepower in the South China Sea right now to blow them to smithereens if it comes down to a power play. For now, the Pooh Bear can appear to be gracious by not starving the poor sailors unlucky enough to be stuck there. Not just to prove a political point.
As noted by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in a statement, “both sides continue to recognize the need to de-escalate the situation in the South China Sea and manage differences through dialogue and consultation.”
Chinese Coast Guards behave like a mafia rather than a professional law enforcement agency.
It attempted to block a medical evacuation for a military personnel from BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal on July 7, while shamelessly claiming to help the PCG on social media. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/qbpRTz3TdG
— Dr. Minh Tran (@MinhDr18) July 10, 2024
The clashes were routine and while annoying and harassing, they hadn’t been actually “life threatening.” That changed in June.
“In the worst confrontation, Chinese forces on motorboats repeatedly rammed and then boarded two Philippine navy boats on June 17 to prevent Filipino personnel from transferring food and other supplies.” It’s those “other supplies” which created the conflict. China got word there were weapons in that shipment, along with construction equipment and supplies.
Having a ship beached on the disputed island is one thing. Building any sort of permanent structure on the soil of the atoll itself takes the conflict to a whole new diplomatic level. “After repeated ramming, the Chinese seized the Philippine navy boats and damaged them with machetes and improvised spears.“
