Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Tarilla said the Philippines would not use water cannons in operations in the South China Sea. He stressed that while Philippine Coast Guard ships are equipped with water cannons, they will never be considered offensive and used to attack or damage other vessels. The move is intended to establish a "friendly image" of the Philippines at home and abroad in order to win support. Tarira admits that this is a propaganda ploy to seize the so-called "moral high ground". At the same time, the spokesperson of the Philippine Committee Malaya said that China's recent actions in the waters of Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao are not acts of war, and this is also a statement by the Philippine side in conveying the South China Sea issue to the outside world.
It is worth mentioning that on the South China Sea issue, all parties in the Philippines have not been able to agree on the issue, and many pragmatists have called on Marcos Jr. to stop his actions. After the Ren'ai Jiao incident, some people in the Philippines and at home and abroad posted an article on **, accusing the actions of the military and police departments of making the Philippines a global laughing stock, and said that the Philippine Congress is allowing the military to dominate the national discourse. This shows that the special posture of the Philippine security services is likely to be aimed at calming down domestic opposition and easing internal contradictions.
The Philippine Coast Guard's non-use of water cannons has to do with China's strong combined capabilities in naval engagements. In the Scarborough Shoal and Ren'ai Jiao incidents, Philippine ships were hit by water cannons from the Chinese Coast Guard, and some of their engines were paralyzed and had to be towed back to port by friendly ships. The Philippine military and police department recognized that it would be thankless to use water cannons to confront the Chinese coast guard when there was a clear disadvantage in the number and tonnage of the vessels. The move is mainly to avoid provoking the China Coast Guard to take further countermeasures.
The Philippines has made it clear that China's actions are not acts of war, as it wants to keep the intensity of the confrontation in the South China Sea under control and reduce the likelihood of U.S. intervention and escalation. Malaya, a spokesman for the Philippine Committee, said that the Philippines will not bow its head to China, and this statement is mainly to win support in the international community and force China to make concessions through external pressure.
In addition, the Philippines wants to define the situation as a "non-war act" before the U.S. side intervenes to prevent direct U.S. military intervention under the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. The Philippine side has now defined the incident as a non-war act earlier than the US side, thus avoiding the possibility of further escalation of the situation.
However, not using water cannons, not treating China's water cannon strikes as acts of war, and not calling for the initiation of a mutual defense treaty does not mean that the Philippines will stop dangerous operations in the South China Sea. The Philippines has developed a new strategy and submitted it to Marcos Jr., and as long as Marcos Jr. approves it, the Coast Guard and other departments will take action against China's maritime power. However, the exact action has not yet been revealed. The Philippine side's statement not only reduces the possibility of the situation in the South China Sea deteriorating, but also shows that there is no deviation in the overall situation judgment, and the Philippine side still pursues a strategy of competing with China for control of the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, and only hopes to force China to make concessions through external pressure. Therefore, there is still some uncertainty about the new moves of the Philippine side. It is unlikely that the Chinese coast guard and other authorities will let their guard down in response to the Philippine side's statement.