A water-fight in the South China Sea is a lot more serious than it sounds. The Chinese Navy used water cannons against Philippine ships but the message it sends was meant for Joe Biden. It’s a sign that they don’t expect him to lift a finger to stop them as they begin to “re-unify” Taiwan just a little ahead of schedule.
China fires the squirt-gun
On Monday, August 7, the Philippine government demanded China send their ambassador over for a good thrashing. They sent him away with “a strongly worded diplomatic protest over the Chinese coast guard’s use of water cannons in a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels.”
Joe Biden say’s they’re allowed to be there, no matter what the Pooh Bear thinks.
The South China Sea has become a battleground as Beijing ramps up operations across the region. It’s all obvious preparation for the big “re-unification” of Taiwan.
BREAKING:
The Chinese Coast Guard has used water cannons to attack a small vessel used by the Philippine Navy to resupply its Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal outpost.
The attack took place only 190 km from the Palawan island of the Philippines.pic.twitter.com/D2kQREWNPK
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) August 6, 2023
Washington thinks that won’t be for years yet while everyone else is convinced that it could happen at any moment. With all the dirt they have on Joe Biden, it’s starting to look a lot like they’re ready to go now.
While Beijing claims exclusive right to the entire South China Sea, there’s one particular spot that prompted the Super-Soaker battle. “The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship.”
Xi Jinping is upset because they ran it aground there intentionally, just to give some credence to their claim to ownership.
Only the latest flare up
This is only the “latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea,” involving “the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.”
On Monday Philippine officials “showed videos and photographs which they said showed six Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels blocking two Philippine navy-chartered civilian boats taking supplies to the Philippine forces at Second Thomas Shoal.”
One of the supply boats was “hit with a powerful water cannon by the Chinese coast guard.” The other one managed to deliver their load of supplies.
PCG said they were escorting ships carrying supplies to military troops stationed in Ayungin Shoal, also known as Second Thomas Shoal, in the Spratly Islands chain, known in China as the Nansha Islands.
📷 @coastguardph pic.twitter.com/4hpyJcLExX
— Jacque Manabat (@jacquemanabat) August 7, 2023
“Only one of the two Philippine boats managed to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to the Philippine forces guarding the shoal, the officials said.” China is trying to make it clear that they’re unwelcome trespassers.
The letter sent back to Beijing with the ambassador warns Xi Jinping to stop his “illegal actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea.”
They’re also supposed to “stop interfering in legitimate Philippine activities, and abide by international laws, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Seas.” Watch me, the Pooh Bear declares.
