‘Exposing China’s bad behavior won’t lead to war’

MANILA, Philippines — It is “illogical” and “preposterous” to conclude that exposing China’s bad behavior in the West Philippine Sea would lead to World War III, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said yesterday.

Tarriela, who is also PCG spokesman on the West Philippine Sea, was reacting to a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Beijing-run English newspaper Global Times showing an executive of a pro-China think-tank claiming that the United States’ provocation of the Philippines against China could lead to world war.

“A third country like the United States come into the picture and push and push the Philippines to provoke China. For that matter, a Third World War is possible,” Anna Malindog-Uy, vice president for external affairs of the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, said in the Global Times report posted on X.

But Tarriela disagreed.

“It is illogical to argue that the Philippines’ policy of exposing China’s bad behavior at sea would lead to a ‘Third World War,’ ” the PCG official said on X. “It is a preposterous claim lacking empirics.”

“Exposing China’s aggressive behavior, illegal presence and bullying tactics in the West Philippine Sea is aimed at supporting the Philippines’ principled position – that disputes must be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law,” Tarriela pointed out.

He added that the Philippines, like other countries, is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

China, for its part, should “abide by international law and refrain from altering the status quo by coercion and intimidation,” he said.

He also clarified that contrary to what Uy was saying in the Global Times report, the Philippines is not being pressured to expose China’s coercion and blatant violation of international law.

The Philippines, he added, is only fighting for its sovereign rights.

“Any nation worthy of its name will resist when its sovereignty and sovereign rights are being taken away. The fact is inconvertible,” he stressed.

“Likewise, China does not need any ‘push’ to blatantly violate international law. It has been their strategy from the very beginning to change