Sink or swim

ON June 17, 2024, while the nation observed Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) embarked on yet another rotation and resupply (RoRe) mission to Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal. It was only the next day that news about "Philippine and Chinese vessels colliding in the West Philippine Sea (WPS)" broke out. We all thought it was just one of those illegal and hostile acts by the China Coast Guard (CCG) and China maritime militia ships that Filipinos have gotten accustomed to learning about whenever there are RoRe missions. But we were all terribly mistaken.

By June 19, as the country commemorated the 163rd birth anniversary of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, we were all enraged to learn from media reports that eight members of the Naval Special Operations Command (Navsocom) were wounded, one severely so; their rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs) illegally boarded and searched; and their high-powered firearms and cellular phones seized. Video footage vividly showed how Communist Chinese agents — wielding knives, bolo, spears and axes — on board their vessels swarmed and attacked our troops, stabbed the RHIBs, broke the windshields, destroyed the outboard motors using sledgehammers, and towed the vessels away.