They have officially accused Chinese fishermen of dumping cyanide into the South China Sea. Manila claims this is not just a bit of lazy rubbish disposal, but a deliberate act of sabotage. Apparently, someone wants to kill off the local fish and starve the Filipino troops stationed on a rusting shipwreck. It is the kind of drama you normally only see in a low budget spy movie, but with more coral and fewer secret lairs.
China has naturally called the whole thing a farce. Their foreign ministry says the claim is completely unbelievable and not even worth talking about. They insist their boats are just doing a bit of normal fishing and that the Philippines is the one doing the harassing. It is a classic case of he said, she said, but with ten bottles of seized poison and a very expensive maritime territory at stake.
Dinner is Cancelled at Second Thomas Shoal
The drama is centred around Second Thomas Shoal, where a handful of Filipino sailors live on the BRP Sierra Madre. This is a World War Two ship that was deliberately grounded in 1999 to act as a very salty, very metal outpost. According to Philippine officials, Chinese boats have been using cyanide to stun fish and poison the water supply since last year. They claim this is a sneaky way to make life even more miserable for the troops on board.
The Navy says they have already found ten bottles of the stuff on boats launched from Chinese vessels. Cyanide fishing is a nasty old trick used to catch live reef fish, but it also happens to kill everything else, including the coral. If the coral dies, the foundations of the shipwreck might crumble, which would be a very convenient way for the ship to disappear into the sea. Manila is now prepping a diplomatic protest, though Beijing seems about as interested in that as a cat is in a bath.
A Very Crowded Bathtub
The South China Sea is currently the world’s most contested swimming pool. China claims almost the entire thing, despite a 2016 international ruling telling them they have no legal leg to stand on. Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei are also involved in this giant territorial mess. Everyone wants a piece of the fishing grounds and the potential oil and gas hiding under the seabed. It is the only place on Earth where you might see a coastguard boat armed with knives and sticks trying to stop a delivery of snacks to a shipwreck.
Tensions have been ramping up faster than a rocket. Last year, things got physical when Chinese coastguards boarded Philippine boats in a clash that left several sailors injured. Now, the Philippines is bringing in the big guns. They recently held joint exercises with the US and Australia, and Japan is joining the party too. Even France is sending over a small squad of troops to help out with war games later this month.
The Ultimate Game of Battleships
Beijing is fuming about these drills, claiming they only make things more tense. They prefer it when everyone stays at home and lets them redraw the maps in peace. Meanwhile, Manila is signing deals with Paris and making sure their troops have enough fresh water to last the week. It is a high stakes game of battleships where the rules seem to change every time someone pulls out a bottle of poison or a sharp stick.
It is a strange world when the future of global trade and regional peace might depend on whether a group of sailors can keep their fish dinner from being spiked with cyanide. We will have to see if the diplomatic protests actually lead to anything, or if everyone just keeps shouting into the ocean breeze.
Do you think a military outpost on a rotting 1940s ship is a brilliant tactical move, or is it time for a slightly more modern approach to border security?
Related topics: Asia
