SINGAPORE: On June 17, there was a real threat of a full-scale military confrontation in the South China Sea.
The most significant conflict occurred between China and the Philippines over the contested Second Thomas Shoal. If not for some restraint and a great deal of luck, things might have quickly gone beyond a Filipino sailor’s amputated thumb. After the two nations have experienced high tension levels for more than a year, one might have predicted this.
There were indications of the noose tightening in addition to the typical hiccups in the Philippine rotation and resupply missions to the garrison positioned on the beached Sierra Madre warship. China claimed that Filipino troops had destroyed Chinese fishing nets near the shoal and pointed guns at the coast guard in the two weeks before the most recent altercation.
The Chinese coast guard is visible immediately next to the Sierra Madre in video footage from the June 17 episode that the Philippine military has made public. They are not even close to entering the outpost. In a fait accompli, they might have forced the Filipinos off the rusting hulk to end the impasse permanently, possibly starting a larger battle that might involve the US.
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