In Chinas shadow The Philippines at the heart of a global conflict DW Documentary_720p
Welcome to FlickFrenzy!
Subscribe now and dive into a world where every flick is a new thrill!
Subscribe now and dive into a world where every flick is a new thrill!
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The South China Sea is a third larger than the Mediterranean, with 250 islands, atolls and reefs.
00:08China is expanding its claims to ownership, especially in the territory of the Philippines.
00:14China claims that these territories belong to China. We dispute that, and that's where the problem is.
00:21China's naval fleet is the largest in the world, and it's increasingly threatening Philippine ships.
00:30Under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Philippines has been aligning itself more closely with the United States.
00:38Our president has already expressed his clear statement that regardless of the level of aggression that they're going to do,
00:45we're not going to surrender a square inch of our territory to any foreign power.
00:51Why this big political change in the Philippines?
00:54China has not threatened to use force to settle the matter of the occupied islands and reefs.
01:02Here, the danger is ever greater that a smoldering conflict between Beijing and Washington could ignite into a global crisis.
01:20The South China Sea, part of which is known in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea.
01:34Surrounded by China, Taiwan and the Philippines, it's the site of a power struggle between Washington and Beijing.
01:41Experts warn that this regional dispute has global implications.
01:47This battle to defend the West Philippine Sea is not our battle alone.
01:54The world has a stake here, because if China succeeds, then it will overturn the UN Charter.
02:03We will go back to Might is Right era.
02:09But Beijing has its own interpretation of the founding document of the United Nations.
02:14Zhou Bo is a retired colonel in China's People's Liberation Army.
02:19China considers the islands, reefs and waters of the South China Sea to belong to China.
02:26So the expansion is happening on our own territory, and that's our business.
02:33Beijing justifies its maritime ambitions with what's known as the Nine-Dash Line, which has been marked on Chinese maps since the 1940s.
02:45From China's perspective, it's evidence of centuries-old territorial claims.
02:51You cannot say that 2,000 years ago we were passing through this, our fishermen were there, there was a shipwreck there of our traders, so it's ours.
03:02No. I mean, all historical claims have been extinguished.
03:08In 2013, the Philippines took China to court over the matter.
03:13Three years later, the Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that under international maritime law, Beijing had no claim to areas within the Philippine Economic Zone.
03:23But China has ignored that ruling.
03:26One hotspot of the conflict is the Scarborough Shoal, which China occupied in 2012.
03:33It's located 220 kilometers from Luzon, the main island of the Philippines, and some 800 kilometers from the Chinese island of Hainan.
03:44The area's rich fishing grounds add an economic factor to the dispute.
03:49U.S. security expert and retired colonel Ray Powell served in the region.
03:54Now, the Philippines faces, I think, the hardest problem of all of those because of the Philippines' unique geography and the West Philippine Sea that has so many of these places that have been turned into Chinese strongholds.
04:06It's basically being blockaded out of Scarborough Shoal.
04:11If you are a Philippine fisherman, the first thing you have to worry about is the China Coast Guard showing up or the maritime militia showing up or both showing up.
04:20One such fisherman is Tolomeo Forones.
04:24He's one of the few who dared to keep sailing deep into territory occupied by China.
04:30He also testified to the court of arbitration.
04:33I'm fighting for our rights, our sovereign rights here in the Philippines.
04:38We're justified in fighting for what's ours. It doesn't belong to them.
04:49After 16 hours at sea, his boat reaches the Scarborough Shoal and its fish-rich lagoon.
05:00Chinese Coast Guard ships patrol the area.
05:03They hinder the crew from fishing in the lagoon.
05:07The Chinese Coast Guard is over there, about a mile away.
05:16I counted four of their ships earlier.
05:23The Chinese have already driven some of the local fishing boats away.
05:30It's very different now.
05:33It's very different now compared to what it used to be like.
05:38Scarborough is no longer a peaceful place.
05:41It used to be calm around here.
05:44We weren't afraid of anything.
05:48Now they drive us away, and there's nothing we can do about it.
05:55It's like they stole it. I don't even know if it belongs to them now.
05:59Our right to it is only on paper.
06:06That's the reality of the court ruling. It was just a win on paper.
06:21The long and expensive journey is only worth it if the fishing crew can work here for the next few days.
06:30These waters are so rich with fish that there's a fresh catch every few minutes.
06:35Snapper, parrotfish or grouper. Fish that bring in a good profit at market.
06:49But the crews are in constant danger of being chased off by the Chinese Coast Guard.
07:00There are a lot of them here, mostly Coast Guard.
07:05That one over there is Coast Guard.
07:09The blue one?
07:10No, not the blue one.
07:12The white one?
07:13Yes, the white one over there. That one hassles us all the time.
07:20Of course we're intimidated. Their ships are made of metal and ours of bamboo.
07:24They'd break easily, and then how would we get home?
07:27And if the Chinese drove us away, what would become of us?
07:30We wouldn't even be able to afford a few kilos of rice.
07:40For fishermen like Tolomeo Forones, the Scarborough Shoal is not only a vital source of food and income,
07:47it's a piece of their home.
07:50For China, meanwhile, it's another step towards gaining full control of the South China Sea.
07:58China has also been dredging our seabed, and in an example of adding insult to injury,
08:05using these marine resources of the Philippines to create artificial islands within the West Philippine Sea,
08:13and then militarize them, and then use that to claim that this is part of her territory.
08:19The South China Sea was a body of water with a bunch of small islands and rocks,
08:25and yet in the past decade, turned into a body of water with large military bases.
08:32On the Paracel Islands and the Spratly Islands, Beijing has occupied reefs and built up sandbanks into artificial islands.
08:40These have been turned into military outposts, complete with harbors, missile systems, radar stations, and airstrips for fighter jets.
08:50They have military air and naval bases in the Spratlys, in the Paracels, but they don't have in the Scarborough area.
08:58To control the entire South China Sea, you must put up an air and naval base in Scarborough,
09:04because you have to cover the entire South China Sea with your cruise missiles and your fighter jets,
09:12and that's very crucial to take over Taiwan.
09:16Another consequence of Beijing's militarization of the South China Sea is the danger it poses to global trade.
09:25This sea route is used for one-third of the world's trade,
09:29including for raw materials like iron ore, copper, and natural gas bound for China,
09:35and electronics, clothing, and gas.
09:38Plus, there are large and previously untapped deposits of gas and oil under the seabed.
09:44The Philippines considers these vital.
09:49Because of the fact that we have limited resources, we need a lot of resources,
09:54and we need a lot of resources to be able to do what we need to do.
10:00The Philippines considers these vital.
10:04Because of the fact that we have limited resources, we need international trade routes,
10:10we need the resources in our 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone
10:17to guarantee our food security and energy security,
10:21and to guarantee our country's resilience.
10:23For China, on the other hand, it is a question of hegemony and growth.
10:31Former President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte,
10:34best known for his violent war on drugs, was seen as China-friendly.
10:39During his time in office, Beijing expanded its presence in Philippine waters.
10:45In 2022, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became president.
10:49Before the election, it seemed that Marcos planned to continue with Duterte's pro-China stance.
10:58Relations between China and the Philippines under former President Duterte were generally good.
11:04The current government under President Marcos Jr. has dramatically changed its attitude towards China.
11:10Overall, it's not very friendly towards China.
11:13I suspect that has something to do with the tensions between the US and China.
11:19The predecessor of this government, Duterte, was very pro-China, right?
11:24I mean, I would say he single-handedly almost turned over the Philippines to Chinese interest.
11:32After Duterte's six-year rule, President Marcos Jr. changed course,
11:37seeking stronger political and economic ties with Western partners, especially the United States.
11:45It's a change that even government critics like journalist Maria Ressa welcome.
11:53I think the Philippines has always had strategic value, right?
11:56It's part of the reason that Western nations retained their relationship with the Duterte administration.
12:03And I think now you're seeing a kind of, in terms of diplomatic relations,
12:10certainly diplomatic community seems happier.
12:19But the balance of power globally, of geopolitical power, is shifting.
12:29I would say our president, a second Marcos, Marcos Jr., cares about what the rest of the world thinks.
12:36He cares about international alliances.
12:39He has traveled more than any other president that we have had,
12:44and continues to look at this, has made, has signed agreements.
13:00President Marcos Jr. is standing up to the Philippines' powerful neighbor.
13:05The message is clear, even if he doesn't always mention China by name.
13:11I stated at the start of my administration that we would not yield one inch of territory to any foreign power.
13:18In recent years, the Philippines has been at the receiving end of illegal, aggressive and irresponsible actions in the West Philippine Sea.
13:29Manila is steeling itself for a new and extremely powerful opponent.
13:36Filipinos are wary of conflict.
13:39I am wary of conflict.
13:41We do not want war.
13:43And so it is really a strategic crossroads.
13:47I see it as a danger because China is really disingenuous.
13:51It has a motive.
13:52The motive is to acquire dominion over the whole of the South China Sea and perhaps even the Philippines.
14:01My goal is to build a robust deterrent and a robust defense architecture.
14:07And fortunately, we have had clear guidance from our Commander-in-Chief, the President.
14:17One reason President Marcos Jr. can act with such confidence is that he can rely on Washington's support.
14:24Since 1951, the U.S. and the Philippines have had a treaty similar to that of the NATO alliance,
14:30with each country committed to defend the other.
14:37Since 1991, the two nations have carried out joint annual military drills.
14:42The exercises are named Balakatan, which means shoulder-to-shoulder.
14:47They also took place during the Duterte's presidency,
14:50but under Marcos Jr., they've been expanded.
14:53In April 2023, 17,600 soldiers took part, the largest joint exercise to date.
15:04How can a country like the Philippines, without nuclear arms, with a weak military,
15:12fight a country that is nuclear armed with the largest naval fleet in the world,
15:18to prevent that country from grabbing its territory in maritime zones? How?
15:23One, you have to use international law.
15:25Second, you have to use your mutual defense treaty, if you have.
15:32In 2014, Washington and Manila signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement,
15:38or EDCA. It gives U.S. forces access to five Philippine military bases,
15:44where they can station troops and equipment.
15:47Marcos Jr.'s predecessor, Duterte, tried unsuccessfully to terminate the agreement.
15:59After his election victory, Marcos Jr. traveled to Washington.
16:03He and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to expand the defense pact to include four more bases.
16:15I think the Philippines has actually endangered its own national security.
16:20Because in the event of a war, if the Philippines allows U.S. forces to attack China
16:27from Philippine territory, then these U.S. bases on Philippine soil will surely be targeted by China as well.
16:35So it's not good for the Philippines.
16:41If there were to be such a conflict between the U.S. and China,
16:47the Philippines and its 115 million residents would find themselves on the front line.
16:53We have no choice because their expansionist activities, their harassment, their shadowing,
16:59their bullying, their illegal and illegitimate activities continue.
17:03It's a big country. It's a powerful country. We are a small archipelagic country.
17:09Leave us be.
17:13Cagayan is the newest city in the Philippines.
17:17It's just a few hundred kilometers away from Taiwan and China.
17:23That proximity makes China its most important trading partner.
17:29Now, two new U.S. military bases are to be set up here under the EDCA pact with the United States.
17:35Some local politicians say it's a good idea to set up a military base here.
17:42Some local politicians aren't happy, including Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba.
17:48The top-performing governor who is the major author of all major developments in the province of Cagayan
17:54will also deliver Honorable Governor for Manuel Mamba.
18:01We decide for the interest of our country, our province, our respective towns, of course, our family.
18:11Manuel Mamba has been a mayor, a congressman and is now in his third term as governor.
18:17On Mondays following a flag ceremony, his team starts the week with a Zumba session.
18:24Despite controversies and legal problems, he's seen as a man of the people.
18:30Mamba has been shaping the politics of his province for decades.
18:36From the very start, I've been a supporter of the government of Cagayan.
18:42I've always been a supporter of the government of Cagayan.
18:49From the very start, EDCA was not welcomed as far as I am concerned.
18:55Foreign forces in the province, I am opposed to it.
19:01I will go on, stand against war and against any foreign forces stationed in the province.
19:09against any foreign forces stationed in the province.
19:15These are superpowers, and when superpowers clash, it's the small people like us, the
19:22small, who will be suffering a lot, especially for us here, we're closest to Taiwan, if that
19:29is where it would ignite.
19:33Chagayan is a popular destination for Chinese tourists, and it continues to attract investment
19:39from China.
19:48China is the second biggest economy in the world, so important.
19:51We could provide them beef, we could provide them meat, we could provide them vegetables
19:56and even fruits.
19:57Since I became governor in 2016, it has always been looking northward.
20:05We see hope, we see economic ties, we see international trade by looking northward of
20:14our province.
20:16The governor's friendly stance towards China has caused him a lot of trouble.
20:23I was even suspected to be pro-China.
20:27I'm not pro-China, I am pro-Philippines, I am pro-Chagayan.
20:32I am accused of buying boats, I never bought boats in my entire political career.
20:40And the people and the electorates of Chagayan know that.
20:45And I hope that my stand on EDGA has nothing to do with this.
20:54The governor cannot prevent the new US bases.
20:57One of the four is being established in Santa Ana, in the far north of his province.
21:02But a military presence already exists in the coastal town.
21:11Activists Ranj, Jules and Ariel have travelled to the area to find out whether there have
21:16been any human rights violations committed by the military.
21:26Our history has shown us how the American and Chinese militaries have treated Filipino
21:31citizens.
21:36Military presence has come with prostitution and human rights violations in general.
21:44That's what we have to watch out for with these military bases.
21:55The three activists are part of a young, globally connected and well-informed generation.
22:01They don't want to be controlled by either China or the US.
22:09The beaches and jungles of the nearby island of Palaui were recently used for US-Philippine
22:14military exercises.
22:19The island is also home to a Philippine naval outpost.
22:31This boat has the naval logo on it.
22:37It looks like there are no officers around, just island residents.
22:43The ECHA sites are a sensitive topic, so we have to be careful.
22:54According to human rights organizations in the Philippines, 89 people critical of the
22:59government have been killed in the past two years.
23:0218 have been tortured and 13 have gone missing.
23:07The government has always campaigned against activists, calling them communist sympathizers.
23:13This has turned into the phenomenon called red tagging.
23:17A lot of activists, such as those opposing the Philippine military, have ended up harmed
23:27or dead, particularly for something like communities affected by Balikatan or EDCA.
23:36The women conduct interviews to document how residents are being affected by the Balikatan
23:41military exercises and the EDCA defense alliance.
23:45They publish their findings in their student newspaper and on TikTok.
23:51Cagayan is close to Taiwan.
23:55Do you think your security as a Cagayan resident will be endangered if EDCA sites are established
24:01Yes, because we don't know what will happen.
24:11We think about things like bombs and all that.
24:16We're certainly worried about it.
24:22One time, it was really scary.
24:24A helicopter landed in the rice fields.
24:27We didn't know there were American soldiers inside it.
24:31We had no idea what they were doing here.
24:35What went through your mind?
24:38We thought a war with China had broken out.
24:41For years, organizations like Human Rights Watch have warned that the rights of residents
24:49are being put at risk by the security pact and the military exercises.
24:54There are hundreds of people in the EDCA sites fearing loss of livelihood, fearing
24:58displacement.
24:59I mean, those are real issues.
25:04I think there is a need for civil society organizations, for human rights organizations
25:09to really monitor what's happening in these EDCA sites and how the mutual defense treaty
25:13and EDCA is being enforced.
25:18Was there any consultation with your community?
25:21Or did you suddenly find out about the construction of the EDCA sites?
25:28Yes, it was quite sudden.
25:37When we found out about EDCA, we thought a war was about to break out.
25:45They're too strong.
25:46We wouldn't stand a chance.
25:48We're afraid we'll get caught up in a war.
25:55We're concerned because as young people, we're the next generation.
25:59We're worried about what kind of society we'll inherit.
26:10Despite improvements in human rights under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it's still
26:15dangerous to criticize the government and the military.
26:21We are not a dictatorship which can whip people into line, unlike China, which has no freedom
26:30of the press, no freedom of speech.
26:34They can manipulate their population into believing a storyline.
26:43Filipinos have the freedom of choice to believe, which is why having almost 80 to 90 percent
26:53conservatively of Filipinos believing in the justness of the cause that we are fighting
27:00for in the West Philippine Sea.
27:05Tensions with China also dictate the political agenda in the Senate of the Philippines, one
27:10of Asia's oldest democracies.
27:17Even opposition leader and social democratic senator Risa Hontiveros supports the president's
27:22cause.
27:25This issue of the West Philippine Sea is the one that unites almost all, if not all Filipinos,
27:33regardless of who we voted for in the election.
27:36The possibility of a wider or hot conflict breaking out.
27:42No one wants to go to war.
27:45This sense of national unity has given rise to a patriotic movement.
27:49Atin Ito, or This Is Ours, is a rallying cry aimed at defending Philippine territory.
27:57The citizens' movement organizes benefit concerts, collects donations, and uses aid convoys to
28:02support fishing communities affected by the Chinese blockade.
28:10At the end of 2023, Senator Risa Hontiveros traveled to the fishing village of Masenloc
28:17for an event organized by the Atin Ito movement.
28:22Fishing communities have experienced the tensions firsthand, and their accounts carry political
28:27weight.
28:28Fisherman Tolomero Faronis also lives here.
28:31He's respected because of the testimony he gave against China.
28:38If you remember, Mr. Tolomero was one of those who gave a statement for our case at the tribunal.
28:46You helped us to win the case.
28:48Six gave testimony.
28:50Wow, impressive.
28:53I wanted to introduce him to you.
28:58Thank you so much.
29:00We won, madam.
29:01We did.
29:02But nothing came of it.
29:04No, not nothing.
29:07Because of the victory you played a part in, we now have a proposed bill in the Senate
29:11called the Maritime Zones Bill.
29:15It's also supported by the Coast Guard so that the tribunal's decision in our favor
29:18can be enforced.
29:24We may think nothing came of it, but we now have more allies and regional alliances that
29:29support us.
29:32Visits like this aren't just for solidarity.
29:34There are also midterm elections in 2025.
29:52We've wanted to visit Masinloc for a while now, because we know that you're on the front
29:57lines.
30:00You've stood up to China's expansionism in the West Philippine Sea.
30:06So a big round of applause to all of you.
30:15The state and civil society are united against China.
30:24Thanks to the efforts of our president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with the Senate and the
30:31Congress, the fishing community here in Masinloc isn't being left to face its worries alone.
30:43All members of the Congress and the Senate, regardless of their political leanings, are
30:49united in condemning the actions of the People's Republic of China.
31:19We'll send this to the Chinese embassy.
31:28The global order that was established after this first and second world war will be set
31:33aside if we're going to allow countries like China, pretty much like Russia, in disregarding
31:39international law.
31:40Our president has already expressed his clear statement that regardless of the level of
31:45aggression that they're going to do, we're not going to surrender a square inch of our
31:49territory to any foreign power.
32:01Those making a living from fishing are among the poorest here.
32:06They may be admired for being on the front lines of the conflict, but they feel abandoned,
32:11left to face the Chinese threat alone.
32:15Palomero Fironas is frustrated too.
32:32Nothing has changed since 2012.
32:36It's always the same.
32:39The Chinese Coast Guard is still harassing us.
32:45This is the affidavit of testimony in the case fighting for the West Philippine Sea
32:50under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
32:54We won, but the ruling wasn't enforced, so it's not worth any more than the paper it's
32:58printed on.
33:00We're surviving, but we're so thin because we hardly get anything to eat.
33:07They keep driving us away.
33:14All we have is this diplomatic process.
33:16Enough already.
33:18The diplomatic process isn't getting us any results.
33:24We still have to protest.
33:27We have to defend ourselves.
33:30It's so frustrating to deal with thieves who take what's not theirs.
33:40The Chinese blockade has affected his whole family.
33:44His son, Archimedes, hasn't gone to the Scarborough Shoal for years, and Palomero no longer ventures
33:50there either.
33:52Both men now only fish in coastal waters.
33:55To go further would be too dangerous.
34:00What can we do?
34:01We can no longer go to Scarborough, and there aren't many fish around here.
34:07Not like at Scarborough, where you could catch a hundred kilos in a day.
34:23I'm okay with what President Marcos Jr. is doing.
34:27At least this way there's some control.
34:29With the US military presence in the area, China is being more careful.
34:38From time to time, Philippine authorities detain Chinese ships, much to the satisfaction
34:43of locals.
34:45They apprehended a big Chinese boat.
34:52Now the crew was sent back to China after they were caught fishing in Philippine waters.
35:14Palomero's cousin Efren is also a fisherman.
35:17Despite the danger, he continues to travel to the Scarborough Shoal.
35:21He's just returned from a two-week trip.
35:23You still can't go near it?
35:27When we were there, there was a Chinese navy boat.
35:31It kept blocking our path.
35:33It was scary.
35:37We were about 30 miles away.
35:39Maybe it will take a war to get them to leave.
35:43That's our last chance.
35:46The last option.
35:47Go to war.
35:48Fight back.
35:49Come what may.
35:50They won't leave of their own accord.
35:51For Palomero Faronis, it's a continual struggle, both for the survival of his family and for
36:06the future of his homeland.
36:10In the capital, Manila, growing anti-Chinese sentiment is on full display during events
36:15to mark Philippines Independence Day, with attendees shouting, the Philippines is ours,
36:21China leave.
36:27In a survey in spring 2024, almost 80% of respondents said that they would defend their
36:33country in the event of an attack.
36:38We have a Chinese leader who thinks that he can get his way, he can aggrandize himself
36:48and his country by grabbing the territory of other countries.
36:53He thinks that he has enough nuclear weapons, he has the largest naval fleet in the world,
37:00he has spent so much on the military.
37:03If China becomes more aggressive, then its true nature will be finally, the emperor's
37:15clothes will finally be revealed, no, it's already translucent anyway, a transparent
37:24view of China will finally be revealed to the whole world.
37:31So its reputation will go down the drain.
37:36China has about 150 patrol boats, the Philippines has 25.
37:42So it employs other strategies, including turning to the media.
37:50The government posts footage of naval confrontations on social media.
37:57The aim is to raise awareness among the population, drum up international support, and damage
38:02China's image.
38:05The simple matter of turning on the cameras flips the information warfare 180 degrees
38:12because all of a sudden what was deniable is absolutely undeniable.
38:17It's actually the easiest kind of information warfare in some senses.
38:21Now it is having this really extreme reputational damage on the international stage.
38:27A country that wants to cast itself as the champion of the global south is really visibly
38:34pushing around a developing country in its own neighborhood.
38:39As part of this strategy, vacation trips to the disputed maritime regions have recently
38:44been permitted.
38:46In March 2024, a wooden boat carrying 60 bloggers, tourists and journalists left from
38:51a port on Palawan Island.
39:01Their destination, Thitu Island, known in the Philippines as Pag Asa, part of the Spratly
39:07archipelago.
39:12The 505-kilometer crossing to the country's most remote territory takes 32 hours.
39:25On the way, a Chinese warship appeared and pursued the boat.
39:30They're just probably following us or something, I don't know.
39:40We're not going to allow them to stop us, right?
39:44Yeah.
39:49After a few hours, the Chinese ship turned away.
39:55Pag Asa means hope.
39:59In 2002, the Philippines settled civilians here to support its territorial claim.
40:06It's the smallest municipality in the Philippines and the only inhabited island of the Spratly
40:11archipelago.
40:14China also claims the island and Chinese fishing trawlers surround it as though laying siege.
40:20The Chinese Coast Guard and Navy also patrol the area.
40:25The message seems to be, we're keeping an eye on you and we're ready to act.
40:32For many of the tourists, the journey here is both an adventure and a patriotic mission.
40:38I thought there's no single issue or social matter that would unite our country.
40:46But speaking of Spratly, I'm very much surprised that everyone is in agreement that we have
40:54to fight for this island.
40:57Personally, I am inspired and I'm happy and I've never been proud to call myself a Filipino.
41:10250 civilians and 50 Coast Guard and Naval personnel live here.
41:17I wanted to talk to people.
41:19They are the stewards of this island.
41:22They take care of this island and they protect this island for us.
41:27I wanted to get information firsthand because I wanted to write something about it and post
41:34it in social media and hopefully it will get noticed.
41:39Hopefully a lot of people will read about it.
41:44For visitors like Mel Pastor, the realities of life here came as a shock.
41:53From morning to night, Chinese ships cruise around the island, which the Chinese call Zongge.
42:03How I feel right now, I'm scared during my own country because I see a lot of threats.
42:12It makes me angry that I can't do anything freely in my own country.
42:18There's a lot of islands here that we want to visit, but we can't.
42:23Because why?
42:24There are Chinese ships.
42:26What the f**k are they to stop us?
42:29We're supposed to go anywhere we want because this is our country, but we can't do it, unfortunately.
42:35They're there, they're guarding us.
42:37And not just Coast Guard, Navy f**king ships.
42:43Warships are here.
42:45What is this supposed to mean?
42:58Every night, those on shore can see the navigation lights and search lights of Chinese vessels moored off the island.
43:06225 kilometers southeast of Pagasa is another hotspot, the 2nd Tomas Shoal.
43:15The reef is home to the Sierra Madre, a rusting ship that functions as an outpost of the Philippine military.
43:26In 1999, they took this World War II ship and they ran it aground at 2nd Tomas Shoal.
43:32And the Philippines has continuously manned that ship ever since 1999 and has essentially said this is an outpost.
43:39And so every month to six weeks, it has to go out and rotate the troops and resupply the outpost.
43:47For two decades, there was a de facto truce between Beijing and Manila regarding the Sierra Madre.
43:54The Philippines was able to bring supplies to its troops and carry out repair work on the ship.
44:00In return, Manila didn't complain about the Chinese coast guard in its waters.
44:07But under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the rusting hulk has become a problem for Beijing.
44:15They're trying to bring in building materials to reinforce their broken warship,
44:20to make it a permanent outpost on the 2nd Tomas Shoal on Chinese territory.
44:25We can't allow that.
44:27Anything that the Philippines does to bring in a bag of cement to help shore up the Sierra Madre is considered illegal
44:34and hence gets a water cannon or gets blocked or rammed or something.
44:39The Sierra Madre is almost certainly of greater symbolic value than it is of military or strategic value
44:45because attacking the ship would certainly invoke the armed attack phrase of the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty.
44:57Speaking to foreign journalists in May 2024, President Marcos Jr. let the world know just how tense the situation was.
45:09If any Filipino serviceman is killed by an attack from any foreign power,
45:17then that is time to invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty.
45:20Whatever their designation are, whether they're merchant marine or coast guard or actual gray vessels or navy vessels,
45:29it does not matter. That is an attack on the Philippines by a foreign power.
45:36Marcos Jr. has Washington's full support, as reiterated by US Ambassador to the Philippines Mary Kay Carlson.
45:44The Philippines can definitely count on the United States.
45:47Well, the Mutual Defense Treaty, as our Secretary of State and President have said many times,
45:54would be invoked by an armed attack on public vessels or aircraft or Philippine population anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.
46:06Even so, there have been increasing confrontations between Philippine and Chinese coast guard vessels off the Second Thomas Shoal.
46:17Including when the ship the Cabra was on its way to provide supplies to the Sierra Madre.
46:29Several Chinese boats tried to cut off the Cabra to force it to turn back.
46:37This is Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Cabra MRRV 4409.
46:44You are within Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and Kalayaan Island Group.
46:50Your refusal to respond will be reported and will be dealt with accordingly. Over.
46:58Philippine Coast Guard 9702. This is China Coast Guard 3303.
47:06Your operations here have severely infringed on the marine rights and interests rights of China.
47:15Stop the operation and leave the sea area immediately. Over.
47:20This is Philippine Coast Guard vessel MRRV 4409.
47:29You are a state party to UNCLOS. Your actions are illegal. Stop your activity or face the consequences of your actions. Over.
47:41The fast moving ships of the Chinese Coast Guard have no trouble pushing Philippine boats away, maneuvering around them and using water cannon.
47:50Even so, the Cabra managed to carry out its mission.
47:54The Philippine government is walking a fine line, attempting to defend its territorial claims while also exercising diplomatic restraint.
48:04Both are important because of what's at stake.
48:08Our position has always been that even when the tensions really rose, we had urged all sides to maintain their communication with each other.
48:22In order to avoid, let's say, any incident getting out of hand.
48:27That restraint is a relief to the Americans who want to avoid the region becoming a theater of war.
48:34We have been very impressed by the Philippines' measured response, maximum restraint in the face of these aggressive activities.
48:43Because egging on or in some ways contributing to hostilities will not help.
48:51Either way, if a conflict breaks out, it will affect all countries in this region and I suspect even the world.
48:59So we are certainly committed to avoiding conflict.
49:05And yet, in March 2024, the situation did escalate off the Second Tomas Shoal.
49:12For the first time, Philippine sailors were injured in clashes.
49:21Philippine officials warned Beijing not to cross Manila's red lines after a Chinese water cannon attack injured four Filipino navy men in the West Philippine Sea.
49:36They are hoping to escalate the Philippines out of it by just sort of, okay, you can't go as hard as we're willing to go.
49:44And yet, every stage they escalate essentially improves the Philippines' leverage on the international stage.
49:52Whether Manila can hold its position against Beijing long term depends not only on its ally, the US, but also on the political strength of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
50:04The legacy of former President Rodrigo Duterte casts a long shadow.
50:09The International Criminal Court is investigating him for crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs, which some estimates say resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands.
50:21Duterte's continued popularity is a dilemma for Marcos.
50:25Should he protect his predecessor or take the side of international law?
50:31That might set him in a collision course with Duterte, whose daughter is now the vice president and who is presumed to be running for president in 2028.
50:43And the rift between the Dutertes and the Marcoses would widen and would increase the antagonism of the Dutertes against the West and embrace China even more.
50:56A weak state, a weak Philippine government, a weak democracy in the Philippines will not be able to confront the bullying of China, for instance.
51:07A weak President Marcos, who has to deal with so many, many other issues domestically, will not be in a good position to confront China.
51:18The Philippines now finds itself on the front lines of a struggle for geopolitical dominance.
51:25The archipelago nation has effectively become a frontier in the Indo-Pacific, one of the world's most volatile maritime regions.
51:47.