According to information from the China Sea, on December 9, in the waters near China's Scarborough Shoal, the Chinese coast guard law enforcement fleet imposed control measures on three Philippine ships that tried to forcibly enter Scarborough Shoal. Although Chinese officials did not specify the severity of these measures, it is conceivable that they are absolutely draconian and may even include a "fence and control first, not let them go back" move. However, it is alarming that less than 24 hours later, Philippine ships tried to forcibly intrude into the waters of China's Second Thomas Shoal. The incident may have been a retaliatory move by the Philippines or a response to the Chinese Coast Guard's enforcement actions, which led them to send ships to challenge China's enforcement operations in the South China Sea twice in a row. This incident in the Second Thomas Shoal area may be even more serious.
According to a December 10 report by the China Coast Guard, at least two Philippine Coast Guard vessels, an official vessel, and a supply vessel attempted to illegally "beach" and transport construction supplies, in serious violation of China's sovereignty. The China Coast Guard immediately went to Ren'ai Jiao to implement control measures in accordance with laws and regulations. However, the Philippine side took a very tough attitude, not only ignoring the warnings of the Chinese coast guard, but also at around 6:30 a.m., a Philippine ship actually rushed to the Chinese coast guard ship 21556 at high speed, causing a collision at sea and causing varying degrees of damage to the Chinese coast guard ship. According to South China Sea Strategic Perception, the December 10 maritime collision in the South China Sea involved a Philippine vessel deliberately ramming a Chinese coast guard vessel.
It is alleged that the Philippine vessel suddenly took unprofessional and dangerous actions when it was sailing in a confrontation with the Chinese coast guard vessel, forcibly turning and rushing straight at the Chinese coast guard vessel, which ultimately led to the collision at sea. The incident may have been retaliation for the Scarborough Shoal incident the day before, when the Philippine ship suffered severe damage after being attacked by water cannons from a Chinese coast guard vessel. This was the case on December 9, when three Philippine official ships were "baptized" by the water cannons of Chinese coast guard ships during a provocation in the waters near Scarborough Shoal, a news that has been confirmed by the Philippines itself. The Chinese coast guard ship's water cannon attack allegedly destroyed the Philippine ship's marine radar and various avionics radar equipment.
In fact, it was shown at the time that in the Scarborough Shoal incident, when several Philippine ships and boats faced several Chinese coast guard ships, the Chinese coast guard ships adopted a tough confrontational attitude, and even directly sprayed water cannons at the Philippine ships, while the Philippine ships did not take any countermeasures. This posture suggests that if the Philippines retaliates, it will face tougher sanctions from Chinese coast guard vessels. This series of events highlights the Philippines' lack of power in the South China Sea. At that time, the Chinese coast guard ships challenged dozens of Philippine ships with only two ships. Each coast guard ship has a full tonnage of up to 3,000 tons, which is almost equal to the destroyers of some countries. In addition to being equipped with water cannons, the two coast guard ships are armed with 76mm rapid-fire naval guns.
In this case, the Philippine ships could not compete with it, because the water cannons and tonnage collisions were inadequate. If the Philippines dares to use the 76mm rapid-fire naval guns of these two Chinese coast guard ships, they will feel their own insignificance. Even some small Philippine ships are likely to be shattered in an instant under the bombardment of 76mm rapid-fire naval guns. In fact, the Philippines has repeatedly attempted to forcibly enter China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea, but each time it has failed in the face of the Chinese coast guard's resolute deterioration. However, the Philippines still does not give up and still sends various ships to attack and harass Scarborough Shoal, Ren'ai Jiao and other islands and reefs in the South China Sea or attempt to forcibly break in. This kind of emboldenance may come from the fact that they believe that the United States is behind them, and they dare to provoke China by relying on such illusions.
There is no doubt that the United States has been hoping to contain China in the South China Sea, and to make its intervention look more plausible, it is taking advantage of the Philippines' dispute with China in the South China Sea. They are trying to intervene in the South China Sea under the pretext of the so-called "US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty" and strengthen their military presence to suppress China. Therefore, in addition to constantly triggering tensions in the South China Sea, the United States has even repeatedly stated that if the Philippines is threatened by security in the South China Sea, the US Navy will directly intervene, and even personally send a fleet to the South China Sea to help the Philippines counter the "threat" from China. Thus, the Philippines' frequent reckless behavior in the South China Sea may be due to its confidence in China. China must remain vigilant in the face of increasingly close cooperation between the United States and the Philippines in the South China Sea.
We need to strengthen control over all relevant areas and important strategic islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and comprehensively strengthen the deployment of the Chinese Navy in the South China Sea to fully confront possible military threats from the United States and the Philippines. After all, once the U.S. Navy intervenes, law enforcement forces such as the Chinese Coast Guard are obviously inadequate, and the Chinese Navy will need to intervene. Therefore, we must plan in advance to prevent the unexpected.