Over the past few days, two government officials who work closely with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that he is willing to “go to war” over the South China Sea if China decides to unilaterally mine the area or hurt Filipino soldiers.
The president’s willingness to engage China in combat was first mentioned by his former running mate and now Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano during a speech at the DFA on Monday.
“[Beijing] said some red lines, we said some red lines … The president has already said that. If anyone gets the natural resources in the Western Philippines Sea, South China Sea, he will go to war,” Cayetano said. “Whatever happens, happens. He will go to war.”
He said this in response to criticism that the Duterte administration has not been hard enough on China even after its increasing militarization in the disputed area.
Cayetano’s statement is the complete opposite of Duterte’s previous comments, who has repeatedly said that the Philippines “cannot win a battle against China.”
However, the foreign affairs secretary was not the only one who mentioned the president’s alleged change of tune recently.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon made a similar comment while talking to reporters yesterday.
“Just the other night, the president said if my troops are hurt there, that could be my red line,” he said.
“Or, if our people are hurt there at Pag-asa Island (Thitu). We are not saying we are going to war, but if they oppress us that may force our hand, because we will not allow ourselves to be oppressed.”
Thitu is the second largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands where Filipino troops are stationed.
Earlier this month, a Chinese helicopter allegedly flew “dangerously close” over a Philippine rubber boat that was on its way to delivering supplies to marines in a Philippine navy ship at Second Thomas Shoal, also in the Spratly Islands.
According to a Rappler report, the Philippines has filed a note verable — a diplomatic note — against China for the alleged helicopter incident and its installation of missiles in the Spratly Islands, among other recent moves by the Asian superpower.
Neither Cayetano nor Esperon gave details about what a war over the disputed area would be like but when asked yesterday about the Philippines’ advantage over China, the DFA secretary had this to say:
“I’ll answer you in basketball terms — heart,” he said in Filipino, referring to the national basketball team’s slogan.
“[In other words], they’re taller than us, they’re food is more nutritious, their coach is more expensive, their coliseum is grand. But we [have] heart.”
Let’s hope they’ve got more than that up their sleeve.
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