Opinion | How a swarm of Chinese fishing vessels could swamp Duterte’s effort to strengthen Philippines-China ties
- Richard Heydarian writes that the future of relations ‘hangs in the balance’ as scores of Chinese vessels surround Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, provoking a huge outcry among Filipinos
“If you touch it … I will tell my soldiers [to] ‘prepare for suicide missions’,” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned China amid the countries’ latest brewing dispute over a land feature in the South China Sea. “I will not plead or beg,” the Philippine leader said, “but I am just telling you that lay off the [Thitu Island] because I have soldiers there.”
Since the beginning of the year, up to 275 Chinese fishing vessels have been spotted near the Philippines-occupied Thitu Island, which hosts dozens of Filipino soldiers and civilian residents. The swarm of vessels – sighted 657 times so far this year – has provoked a massive outcry in the Philippines and threatens to disrupt the ongoing rapprochement between the two neighbouring nations.
If not properly managed, the emerging crisis in the Spratly island chain could torpedo warming bilateral relations. After all, a similar situation during the 2012 Scarborough Shoal stand-off poisoned China-Philippines ties for years.
Ahead of the May midterm elections, Duterte has found himself between a rock and a hard place: pressed up against a domestic political backlash as he strives to maintain cordial relations with his new-found strategic patron, Beijing.
The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative was the first organisation to shed light on the reported swarming of the Philippines-held island by Chinese vessels; yet, the issue didn’t gain much traction in the Philippines until recently.