The Chinese Coast Guard successfully intercepted a Philippine convoy attempting to storm Scarborough Shoal
Recently, a tense maritime standoff was staged in the waters near Scarborough Shoal. According to comprehensive reports, the Philippine side dispatched a huge fleet of hundreds of ships in an attempt to storm Scarborough Shoal. However, under the close monitoring and swift response of the Chinese Coast Guard, this attempt to infringe on China's territorial sovereignty ultimately failed.
It is understood that before the departure of the Philippine fleet, a grand prayer ceremony was carried out in order to boost morale and create a tragic and sacred atmosphere. However, after the ceremony, the fleet moved unusually slowly.
After more than a dozen hours, they barely managed to advance dozens of kilometers and had to make frequent pauses to replenish fuel, fresh water and food. This slow pace of movement undoubtedly gives the China Coast Guard ample time to react. After learning of the movements of the Philippine fleet, the Chinese coast guard immediately activated its emergency plan and quickly deployed additional police forces to the waters near Scarborough Shoal.
In the sea about 100 kilometers west of Luzon, the first line of warning set up by China came into play. Our side quickly dispatched a number of coast guard vessels to effectively intercept the Philippine fleet. It is reported that the coast guard ships No. 4108, No. 4109 and No. 4203 dispatched by our side carried out close cooperation at sea and successfully intercepted the Philippine coast guard ship Bagakai and four large crab boats.
This action not only demonstrates the efficiency and determination of the China Coast Guard, but also sends a clear and unequivocal signal to the outside world that any attempt to infringe on China's territorial sovereignty will be severely cracked down. As night fell, the originally large Filipino fleet began to gradually disintegrate. Most of the ships chose to evacuate, and there are very few ships still advancing towards Scarborough Shoal.
In fact, most of these Filipino vessels are small boats that are difficult to make ocean voyages. Most of the people on these vessels were put together on an improvised basis to get paid from their funders. Therefore, in the face of the interception of the Chinese coast guard, these small Philippine boats that came for profit chose to flee one after another.
The Philippine fleet, which was expected to reach Scarborough Shoal that night, had already broken up more than 200 kilometers from its destination. At present, the few remaining ships are still continuing to make their way to Scarborough Shoal under the guidance of four large crab boats. However, they are expected to arrive shortly after, and there is a possibility that a small speedboat will be used for a final attempt.
In order to deal with possible emergencies, the Philippine side also sent planes to reconnoiter the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal. However, according to sources, Philippine flight reconnaissance found that the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal has been completely controlled by Chinese ships. This discovery undoubtedly put tremendous pressure on the Philippine side. They clearly did not expect such a swift and forceful response from China.
At the same time, reconnaissance planes also detected the deployment of at least eight Chinese coast guard vessels, 10 maritime militia vessels, and one frigate near Scarborough Shoal. The presence of these ships undoubtedly further strengthens the defense of Scarborough Shoal and makes it difficult for the Philippine fleet to get close to the target area.
These include the participation of a number of advanced ships such as Haijing No. 3106, No. 5305 and No. 3305, fully demonstrating China's firm determination and strong strength to safeguard territorial integrity. The latest news this morning shows that the large crab boat in the Philippines is less than 100 kilometers away from Scarborough Shoal.
However, at this critical juncture, Chinese ships and fishing vessels have formed a tight surveillance network on the spot. This means that it will not be easy for the Philippine fleet to break through the Chinese blockade. Although the Philippine crab ships claimed to have broken through the first line of blockade, in reality they were still nearly 100 kilometers away from the target.
At the same time, traces of two Philippine patrol vessels were also spotted in the area around the Philippine crab boat. The presence of these patrol vessels may be to provide some support and assurance to the Philippine fleet, but their movements are also greatly restricted under the close monitoring of the Chinese coast guard.
The Philippine operation of 100 ships to forcibly enter Scarborough Shoal was doomed to failure. The farce, led by Rafaela David, co-convener of the Philippine Atinitto Alliance, was doomed to fail before it even set off. In addition to the core members, they hired a group of small boats and fishermen to participate in the operation, and vowed to take unprecedented tough measures against Scarborough Shoal. However, these measures pale in practice.
Just two days after the operation, the Philippine fleet had collapsed before it had completed its 300-kilometer voyage. Most of the ships chose to flee the scene after traveling dozens of kilometres, apparently in connection with the meager remuneration offered by Rafaela David.
The personnel on these ships improvised to participate in the operation for this small profit, and naturally had no fighting spirit in the face of the interception of the Chinese coast guard, and chose to flee the scene to save their lives.
It is worth mentioning that in this case, the Philippine Coast Guard also dispatched a number of patrol ships and reconnaissance aircraft to try to provide support, but they may not have expected China's countermeasures to be so quick and forceful, resulting in their support actions eventually becoming empty talk and failing to change the direction of the entire situation.
Now, the Philippines is reaping the consequences and facing real frustration. The latest intelligence revealed that when the Philippine side claimed that the operation had been completely successful at a distance of 100 kilometers from Scarborough Shoal, in fact its fleet had completely collapsed, and the few remaining Philippine coast guard patrol ships also formed a confrontation with Chinese coast guard ships in the waters about 100 kilometers away from Scarborough Shoal, but this confrontation did not change the final outcome of the entire incident.
At the same time, Philippine social media is full of accusations and discontent from the public, who believe that the operation failed without even touching the edge of Scarborough Shoal, and even more ridiculously claim that it has won, reflecting the growing frustration and dissatisfaction with the government's actions in the Philippines.
In addition, we note that the current impatience of the Philippines reflects its urgent need to express itself in order to obtain more financial and investment support from the United States. This is further confirmed by the recent statement by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo, who said that the United States plans to help the Philippines double the size of its semiconductor factories to avoid the risk of excessive concentration in the global chip supply chain, and promised that the initial investment will be up to $1 billion, and the total investment is expected to exceed $10 billion.
However, given the lack of education, talent, electricity, and infrastructure, as well as the widespread corruption, backwardness, and high water and electricity prices in the country, it is actually difficult for the Philippines to establish and develop high-tech industries such as chips, so the U.S. investment commitment to the Philippines may be just a "big pie" that is difficult to keep.
Against this backdrop, if the Philippines continues to blindly and unrealistically pursue goals such as developing high-tech industries, it will only end up with one failure after another. To sum up, the successful interception of the Philippine convoy attempting to storm Scarborough Shoal by the China Coast Guard not only demonstrates China's firm determination and strong strength to safeguard territorial integrity, but also reflects the immaturity and blindness of the Philippines in handling territorial disputes.
This incident once again reminds all parties to respect international law and norms governing international relations, resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation, and jointly maintain regional peace and stability.