China’s “provocative and illegal” action against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is causing tension in the maritime area, and not the United States’ involvement in the territorial dispute between Manila and Beijing.
Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela stressed this on Wednesday, April 17, as he warned the public against the pro-China narratives being propagated by “trolls” online.
“I often find myself wondering why the pro-China trolls consistently blame the US for the tension in the WPS, without acknowledging that it is the PRC [People’s Republic of China] that is using water cannons against our PCG vessels and supply boats, endangering the lives of our troops, and harassing our Filipino fishermen,” Tarriela said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The Chinese government has yet to respond to Tarriela's recent remarks but the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) have repeatedly warned Manila against being used as a "pawn" to stir up trouble in the South China Sea.
Tarriela has been very vocal in countering the “misinformation and disinformation” surrounding the territorial row between the Philippines and China in the WPS.
Previously, he enumerated some of the pro-China narratives that certain groups have been spreading online related to the WPS dispute including claims that speaking up against China's aggression will lead the Philippines into a war; that the transparency initiative by the government to expose the Asian superpower’s “bullying” was solely influenced by the US; and that those who are critical of China are “anti-Filipino and pro-US.”
The narrative that the Philippines would be dragged into war with China and similar arguments are examples of red-herring fallacy, a premise that there is an attempt to redirect a conversation away from its original topic by introducing an irrelevant piece of information which distracts the reader or listener, according to the PCG spokesman.
“It attempts to divert public attention from the real issue at hand, which is China's blatant violation of international law,” Tarriela said.
He said the government’s decision to enhance security cooperation with US and other “like-minded states” was driven by national interest.
“The goal is to establish a robust alliance of countries that will collectively condemn and counter China’s actions that undermine the rules-based international order. It is essential to understand that the tension in the West Philippine Sea is not caused by the United States,” Tarriela stated.
Last week, President Marcos attended a historic trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington where the three leaders expressed concerns about China's "dangerous and aggressive behavior" in the South China Sea, and vowed to cooperate in support of a "free and open" Indo-Pacific region. The trilateral summit was the first among the three countries.