US warns China of aggressive action against the Philippines
By Boyko Nikolov on April 8, 2021
The article was published in Opex360. The point of view expressed in this article is authorial and do not necessarily reflect BM`s editorial stance.
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WASHINGTON, (BM) – When, in 1994, Beijing sent its maritime militia to the vicinity of their owned Mischief Reef, the Philippines deemed it best to do nothing, other than a formal protest, to avoid escalating tensions. Since then, this islet in the Spratley archipelago has come under Chinese control in the South China Sea. And a military base has been built there.
In 2012, the same scenario repeated itself for the Scarborough Reef. This time, Manila decided to take the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration [PCA] in The Hague, which found, in a notice published in July 2016, that the Chinese claims had no legal basis. However, this did not change the situation, Beijing having rejected this verdict, calling it illegal.
China is now eyeing the Philippine Whitsun Reef, also known as “Julian Felipe.†More than 200 “fishing vessels†suspected of belonging to the Chinese maritime militia were spotted there in early March. But here, the Philippine authorities do not intend to let it go. In addition to protesting Beijing [which doesn’t care], they have sent F / A-50 “Golden Eagle†ships and fighter jets into the area.
https://bulgarianmilitary.com/amp/2021/04/08/us-warns-china-of-aggressive-action-against-the-philippines/
