LIKE the dog that didn’t bark in the night, Chinese coastguard vessels around one tidal atoll in the South China Sea have recently distinguished themselves through inaction. For the past four years—ever since Philippine naval inspectors tried to arrest some Chinese fishermen for illegally harvesting endangered species—Chinese ships have blocked Filipino fishermen from plying their trade near Scarborough Shoal. This week, however, Philippine television has shown fishermen returning from the shoal grinning, their boats full.
After China began its blockade, the president of the day, Benigno Aquino, filed a complaint against it at an international tribunal in The Hague, which ruled in the Philippines’ favour earlier this year. The shoal, after all, is only some 220km from the Philippine mainland, within its exclusive economic zone, but almost 900km from China. Mr Aquino also signed an Enhanced Defence Co-operation Agreement (EDCA) with America, which lets American troops operate out of five Philippine military bases. He called for a military response from America were China to begin building on the shoal—as it has on several other disputed reefs and...Continue reading
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