The Philippines has warned China that any attempt to board or tow away its grounded warship at the Second Thomas Shoal would be crossing a “red line” after Manila detected a sharp rise in Chinese maritime activity around the disputed feature in the South China Sea.
Philippine Navy Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesman for West Philippine Sea operations, told reporters on Tuesday that the military was closely monitoring a surge in Chinese maritime activity near the shoal, including the deployment of a navy tugboat for the first time.
He stressed that contingency plans were in place to respond to any attempt to remove or attack the BRP Sierra Madre – the ageing World War II-era ship deliberately grounded there in 1999 to serve as the Philippines’ military outpost.
“The commander-in-chief mentioned that the death of a Filipino will be grounds for invoking the MDT,” Trinidad said, referring to President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s earlier guidance on when Manila might seek to invoke its Mutual Defence Treaty with the United States. “This was amplified by the [Armed Forces’] chief of staff. This is now a red line.”
Any Chinese action to “remove the BRP Sierra Madre” would also be viewed as crossing that threshold, he added.
