Chinese Personnel "Attacking" Philippine Military at Ren'ai Reef? "Frontline Perspective" Video Reveals the Truth of the Conflict

[Global Times - Global Network Report by Reporter Fan Wei] On July 20, the China Coast Guard issued a statement saying that at around 9 a.m. that day, a small patrol boat from the China Coast Guard was conducting a routine patrol near China's Ren'ai Reef when the Philippine illegal "stranded" ship No. 57 released two rubber boats, ignoring our repeated clear warnings, and approached and collided with the Chinese patrol boat in a dangerous manner. During this time, personnel from the Philippines first used paddles, long sticks, and other tools to maliciously attack Chinese law enforcement personnel. The Chinese side took measures in accordance with the law and regulations, including verbal warnings, maneuvering around, and proportional countermeasures to stabilize the situation on the scene, maintaining rational restraint to the greatest extent possible. After the incident, the Philippine side distorted the facts and falsely accused the Chinese side, which is purely turning black and white upside down. We demand that the Philippine side immediately stop its infringement provocations and false hype.

On July 20, a video allegedly showing "Chinese Coast Guard personnel attacking personnel from the stranded Philippine warship" appeared in major Philippine media. In this poorly produced video released by Philippine media, the context is unclear, and a white rigid inflatable boat collided with a black rubber boat, leading to a fierce conflict between personnel on both boats, who waved sticks at each other. Ultimately, the "weaker" black rubber boat "fled in disgrace," withdrawing from the conflict.

Subsequently, the Philippine Department of Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued statements regarding the incident, confirming that Philippine personnel were injured in this conflict and released photos of injured personnel's heads in an attempt to "gain sympathy." The Philippine military also distorted the facts in their statements, slandering the law enforcement actions of the Chinese Coast Guard personnel. The Armed Forces of the Philippines stated in their official statement that "the Philippine Navy's rubber boat calmly and non-confrontationally implemented the expulsion. Chinese Coast Guard personnel took aggressive counteractions, striking a Philippine Navy personnel on the head with a wooden stick, causing injury and damaging the Philippine Navy's rubber boat." Both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of Defense claimed in their statements that "Philippine Navy personnel demonstrated professionalism and discipline" and vowed to "not back down."

However, the first-person video footage obtained by a Global Times reporter, filmed by Chinese Coast Guard law enforcement personnel, restored the truth of the incident from a more comprehensive, realistic, and three-dimensional perspective, debunking the "violence" lies woven by the Philippine military. The video shows that this conflict was entirely initiated by the malicious provocation of Philippine personnel. The two Philippine rubber boats took turns harassing the Chinese Coast Guard law enforcement boat, creating wake by speeding through, and the Philippine personnel also made provocative gestures. After being rammed by the Philippine personnel's rubber boat and violently attacked, the Chinese Coast Guard law enforcement personnel were forced to counterattack, quickly curbing the violent provocations of the Philippine personnel and forcing them to recognize their strength and flee rapidly, preventing the situation from escalating further.

Philippine military personnel maliciously provoking our Coast Guard law enforcement personnel (Photo: Li Yan)

According to Global Times reporters, the Chinese Coast Guard law enforcement vessel conducting routine duty in the Ren'ai Reef area is also a strong countermeasure against the Philippine military personnel's verification activities, which have been continuously driving rubber boats to provoke and harass the Chinese law enforcement vessel. An informed source told Global Times reporters that the frontline law enforcement personnel of the Chinese Coast Guard maintained a high level of rationality during the proportional countermeasures. In terms of size, the Chinese law enforcement vessel is larger, and in terms of performance, the rigid law enforcement boat has stronger horsepower and impact force. If it were to collide with full force, the Philippine rubber boat would likely have no chance of escaping. However, during the entanglement with the Philippine rubber boat, the Chinese law enforcement vessel maintained a high level of restraint.

"The Philippine side has recently taken the initiative to provoke incidents, creating conflicts in the waters around China's Ren'ai Reef with malicious intent," said Yang Xiao, a researcher at the Institute of Peace and Development Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in an interview with Global Times reporters on the 20th. July 12 marks the tenth anniversary of the illegal "South China Sea arbitration ruling." Recently, the Chinese side has continuously released important reports that legally expose the essence of this farce, making it more widely recognized that the illegal "South China Sea arbitration ruling" is "just a piece of waste paper." Through a series of recent statements from the Philippine government, it can also be seen that some Philippine politicians are somewhat anxious. In addition, the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting is being held in Manila, and this year the Philippines is the rotating chair of ASEAN. In order to hype the South China Sea issue and "dominate" the narrative of the South China Sea at this multilateral meeting, the Philippine side has a motive to take risks and create conflict incidents.

Philippine military rubber boat maliciously provoking, personnel from the illegal "stranded" warship cooperating in filming (Photo: Li Yan)

"But the Philippine side has clearly underestimated the Chinese side's determination to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. No matter how the Philippine side escalates the situation and creates incidents, it will not change the Chinese side's will and determination to defend its rights," Yang Xiao stated.

The China Coast Guard also emphasized in its statement on July 20 that it will continue to conduct law enforcement activities in accordance with the law in the Spratly Islands and surrounding waters, including Ren'ai Reef, resolutely safeguarding national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.