Philippines rethinks its South China Sea strategy to ‘uphold dignity’, minimise casualties

“We are re-strategising the way we do things, naturally with the end in view of both preventing injuries and number two, upholding the dignity of our country,” Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro junior said in an interview in his office in Manila on Tuesday.

Teodoro declined to elaborate on the adjustment to the country’s strategy as he said the Philippines has a “range of options” to counter China, which lays sweeping claims to the key waterway. “If you are stuck to one mode, it is easy to anticipate,” he said.

Beijing has strongly opposed the delivery of construction materials to the warship, blocking Philippine resupply vessels and resorting to water cannons to prevent the Southeast Asian nation from repairing the ship. On Tuesday, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the country’s navy spotted three research vessels from China in the Second Thomas Shoal, days after the military said it detected the “unauthorised presence” of a research vessel with a Chinese flag near a province in the main island of Luzon.

Teodoro said he expects Manila’s military ties with Washington to grow in the coming years. This could include the co-production of defence equipment, as well as greater intelligence sharing with the US.

China views Philippine actions in the South China Sea, as well as deepening ties with the US as “provocations”, the defence secretary said.

“The word provocation has been uttered by China several times against Japan, against the Group of Seven,” he said. “I really don’t know what the definition of provocation is in the dictionary of Chinese.”