Experts say Manila needs to step up in the face of a more aggressive Beijing in the South China Sea.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr told soldiers that Manila still wants to peacefully deal with China but will not yield to any foreign power.
“If that is the type of restraint that was being directed from the top, then it might have been excessive. There was a desire to err on the side of caution, but I don’t know whether it is in fact counter-productive or productive because it actually emboldened the Chinese,” added Dr Koh. But top Philippine officials seemed to scramble on how to actually respond to the encounter days later.On June 23, President Marcos flew to the military’s headquarters on the island province of Palawan directly facing the South China Sea and told soldiers there that Manila still wants to peacefully deal with China but will not yield to any foreign power.
But he stopped short of calling it an armed attack, which would have invoked Manila’s Mutual Defence Treaty with the United States. Mr Marcos has said the treaty would be triggered only if a foreign power kills a Filipino serviceman. “I believe Washington is not keen to escalate the situation further because it is supplying weapons to Ukraine and, at the same, it is bogged down in the Middle East. The US Navy is also engaged in the Red Sea,” Dr Yacoob told ST.
He suggested tapping the US to use unmanned water vehicles to clear the blockade first so that supply ships can reach the shoal. He also raised the idea of deploying some American troops to the shoal to help deter further Chinese aggression.
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