China's treachery requires a calibrated but appropriate response

CHINA amplified its brinkmanship and audacity, and one of our soldiers lost a finger. And yet, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, later echoed by West Philippine Sea (WPS) spokesman Jay Tarriela, still considered it falling short of an attack.

Both insinuated that what happened in the Ayungin Shoal, when members of the China Coast Guard (CCG) brandished bladed weapons and unleashed a light and sound attack by simultaneously flashing laser lights and blaring loud sounds at our troops, was a mere misunderstanding or at best, an accident.