Following a string of encounters between the Chinese Coast Guard and Filipino forces, the BRP Sierra Madre, a Filipino warship moored in the disputed South China Sea, has made headlines once again.
Last week, the Philippines’ Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said that if China removed the rusting warship—the BRP Sierra Madre—that operates as a Filipino military outpost in the Second Thomas Shoal, it would be tantamount to an “act of war. “He was speaking in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes. “
Teodoro Jr also emphasized that Manila would expect an intervention by the United States if China tried removing the vessel since there were people onboard. The US is a treaty ally of the Philippines and is bound to protect the country in case of a conflict.
“That is an outpost of Philippine sovereignty, so we’re not only talking about a rusty old vessel. We are talking about a piece of Philippine territory there,” Teodoro said.
The Philippines intentionally grounded the World War II-era warship BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 to assert its territorial claim. The country maintains a small contingent of marines aboard the ship.
Since China claims the Second Thomas Shoal, the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) has repeatedly blocked resupply missions to the Sierra Madre by ramming vessels and harassing Filipino forces.
In June 2024, the CCG seized Philippine equipment during an Armed Forces of the Philippines-led resupply mission to the BRP Sierra Madre (LT-57) at Second Thomas Shoal.
If China were to take the Sierra Madre, a grounded Philippine WWII battleship and outpost, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro says he would expect U.S. intervention. pic.twitter.com/avKFPkHFI5
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 16, 2024
In recent times, the Second Thomas Shoal has remained free from tension because the flashpoint has moved to the Shabina Shoal near the Spratly Islands, which has become the arena of a showdown. Tensions between China and the Philippines are currently at an all-time high, with the latter accusing Beijing of violent high-handedness.
The recent episode of tensions has further fuelled anti-China sentiment in Manila, as evidenced by the Defense Secretary’s remark about going to war over the removal of the BRP Sierra Madre. As tensions with China remain high, the Philippines has promised to keep up its presence at the disputed sites and fortify its overall military posture.
In this context, an account on X (formerly Twitter) that was named after the BRP Sierra Madre—a vessel that has come to represent the resilience of the Filipino people — discussed the sinking of a Chinese fishing trawler by Argentina.
Referring to the incident shared by another X user, the account called for regional unity against China. The account has been actively posting content linked to the Philippines-China engagements and confrontations at sea.
Referring to the incident in 2016, the user wrote: “This is how we stand up to bullies—by speaking their language and showing strength. If the nations around the South China Sea unite and firmly push back against China’s aggression, they’ll think twice before crossing the line. Together, we can make sure boundaries are respected, and no one uses intimidation to take control.”
When Argentina Sank A Chinese Vessel
In 2016, an incident in Argentina sent shockwaves through China despite warm ties between the Chinese government and former Argentine President Mauricio Macri.
In March 2016, the Argentine Coast Guard announced that it had sunk a Chinese fishing vessel that was engaged in illegal fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Argentina.
The Chinese vessel ‘Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010’ was found illegally fishing off the coast of Puerto Madryn, a region well known for squid. The Argentine Coast Guard’s radar detected the trawler.
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The Argentine Coast Guard warned the ship in English and Spanish and tried to establish contact with it using audio and visual signals. However, instead of cooperating, the ship went dark and attempted to flee to international waters without responding to the Argentine Coast Guard.
This is how we stand up to bullies—by speaking their language and showing strength. If the nations around the South China Sea unite and firmly push back against China’s aggression, they’ll think twice before crossing the line. Together, we can make sure boundaries are respected,… https://t.co/kV3M7boU44
— BRP Sierra Madre (@BRPSierraMadre) September 24, 2024
A high-sea chase followed. The Coast Guard reportedly fired warning shots while still trying to get the crew of the offending ship on radio.
“On several occasions, the offending ship performed maneuvers designed to force a collision with the coast guard, putting at risk not only its crew but coast guard personnel, who were then ordered to shoot parts of the vessel,” the Coast Guard later elaborated in a statement.
The Argentine Mantilla-class patrol vessel Prefecto Derbes fired more shots at the Chinese trawler, stopping only as it began to go down. The crew abandoned the ship. There were no fatalities in the incident.
A Chinese vessel shadowing the pursuit rescued several crew members, while the Argentine coast guard saved four. All 32 crew members of the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010 were rescued.
China nevertheless made “urgent representations to Argentina” and conveyed “serious concern” in the wake of the incident.
In 2012 Argentina captured two Chinese vessels it said had been fishing illegally for squid in its exclusive economic zone. At the time, warning shots were fired.
The Argentine Coast Guard acted against the Chinese vessels despite close relations between the two sides in 2016. Susana Malcorra, the former foreign minister of Argentina, later pacified Beijing and expressed hope that the incident would not harm relations between the two countries.
Argentina has long struggled with the menace of illegal shipping, with Chinese trawlers frequently being reprimanded as troublemakers despite frequent warnings. Chinese-operated vessels have come under fire from Argentina, Chile, and Peru for engaging in large-scale, unregulated invasive fishing in their territorial seas, which the South American nations claim is reducing the fish population and harming the southwest Atlantic’s natural biodiversity.
Argentina, now led by President Javier Milei, who has pivoted the country towards the United States, has taken a series of steps to combat China’s illegal fishing.
While the 2016 sinking of Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010 happened in a completely different context than the circumstances in the South China Sea, it is incidents like these that appear to have captured the imagination of people in the wake of China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
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