Philippine military to plan next move after latest flare-up in Scarborough

THE PHILIPPINE military will hold a strategic conference to plan its next moves in the South China Sea, after a Chinese coast guard vessel and navy warship attempted to ram a Philippine boat near Scarborough Shoal, Manila’s top general said on Tuesday.

- By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio and Adrian H. Halili reporters

Talks would likely include the possible deployment of warships or holding joint sails alongside allies to the South China Sea as response to China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed waters, Philippine military chief General Romeo S. Brawner, Jr. said.

“We will be holding a conference within our ranks in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, together with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and of course, we will also seek guidance from our President,” he told reporters in Filipino.

“We will discuss the possible steps we can take and our future tactics to counter what China is doing to prevent us from approaching Bajo de Masinloc,” he added, referring to Scarborough by its Filipino name.

Chinese ships have repeatedly barred Filipino fishermen from accessing Scarborough Shoal, which lies within Manila’s 200-nautical mile (370 kilometers) exclusive economic zone. The atoll is a vast fishing lagoon near major shipping lanes that China seized in 2012 after a standoff with Philippine troops.

The shoal is 240 kilometers west of the main Philippine island of Luzon and is nearly 900 kilometers from Hainan, the nearest major Chinese landmass.