Score one for the little guy:
The Philippine government vessel made a dash for shallow waters around the disputed reef in the South China Sea, evading two Chinese coastguard ships trying to block its path to deliver food, water and fresh troops to a military outpost on the shoal.
The cat-and-mouse encounter on Saturday, witnessed by Reuters and other media invited onboard the Philippine ship, offered a rare glimpse into the tensions playing out routinely in waters that are one of the region's biggest flashpoints.
Good for them!
Although as China is escalating their pressure by trying to blockade the island, the Philippines should start to build a permanent structure on the Second Thomas Shoal the way China establishes sovereignty with concrete and steel.
I'd like to note that the Philippines had media on board the vessel to hopefully shame the Chinese as bullies had the Chinese ships rammed or otherwise used force to stop it.
I've noted the need for Manila to wage an information battle against the behemoth, Peking, in this contest.
In the bigger war, the Philippines is pressing a claim against China under international law:
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario told a news conference Sunday that the documents submitted electronically to the tribunal in The Hague consist of nearly 4,000 pages of analysis and documentary evidence.
Filipino officials took their territorial disputes with China to international arbitration in January 2013, after Chinese government ships took control of a disputed shoal off the northwestern Philippines. They asked the tribunal to declare China's claims to about 80 percent of the strategic waters and Beijing's seizure of eight South China Sea shoals and reefs illegal.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that China will never accept nor participate in the international arbitration pushed by the Philippines. He called on the Philippines "to stop going any further down the wrong track so as to avoid further damage to bilateral relations."
You have to admire the Chinese reaction. Relations could get worse? What's China going to do? Bully Manila and seize the Philippines' territory?
UPDATE: I recently noted that the Philippines needs the ability to fight tiny wars over these islands. This compels China to back off from their slow strangling strategy or go beyond bullying and wage a battle big enough to attract the attention of the world and risk American entry into the struggle.
