The Daily Populous Monday July 1st, 2024 evening edition
Authored by channelnewsasia.com and submitted by SuperConfuseMan

SINGAPORE: On Jun 17, the world came dangerously close to an outright armed conflict in the South China Sea.

The clash between China and the Philippines in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal was the most serious ever documented. Things could have easily escalated beyond a Filipino sailor’s severed thumb - but for a measure of restraint and a whole lot of luck.

One might have seen this coming after more than a year of high tensions between the two countries.

Besides the usual disruptions of Philippine rotation and resupply missions to the garrison stationed on the beached Sierra Madre warship, there were signs of the noose tightening. In the fortnight leading up to the latest fracas, China accused Filipino troops of pointing firearms at the coast guard and destroying Chinese fishing nets in the shoal’s vicinity.

In video footage of the Jun 17 episode released by the Philippine military, the Chinese coast guard can be seen right alongside the Sierra Madre - just short of boarding the outpost. In a fait accompli, they might have pushed the Filipinos off the rusting hulk to resolve the stalemate once and for all, potentially igniting a wider conflict that could involve the United States.

Korean_Kommando on July 1st, 2024 at 16:10 UTC »

Who is upvoting this lmao

Annoying_Rooster on July 1st, 2024 at 11:55 UTC »

That's quite a bold claim, one that I have to respectfully disagree with. While the attack that took place was definitely a mark for escalation, I don't see how unless gunfire was exchanged and mass casualties were reported for anything to have taken place. And I'm pretty sure that it was the Filipino Government under Marcos that did not invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty when the incident took place.

While it is something to keep a hairy eye on, by no means was the entire South China Sea at risk of full-scale war. Comparing China's "Coast Guard" navy and their PLAN by tonnage against the US Navy, you'll find that while China has more "ships" their outclassed by tonnage so much that it's not even funny. They aren't going to start a war off the coast of the Philippines, they got bigger fish to fry. (eg. Taiwan)