Incitement.

This is coolbert:

“'What we need in the West Philippine Sea is not just vessels for maritime patrols but air assets as well,' . . . 'It will have a critical and direct impact on our ability to project our assets beyond our 12 nautical miles territorial sea which include our 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone (EEZ).'”- Rej Torrecampo.

"Rejection of US help in South China Sea shows Philippines acting on its own"

"Military chief Romeo Brawner said Washington’s support won’t be sought before ‘exhausting all possible options’ amid rising tensions with China"

https://www.scmp.com | Jeoffrey Maitem |  10 Jul 2024 | The South China Morning Post (SCMP).

"The Philippines’ rejection of a US offer to help with regular resupply missions for troops on a disputed shoal in the South China Sea shows Manila prefers to handle operations on its own and Beijing could view Washington’s involvement as attempts to incite conflict in the waterway, analysts say."

"Chinese and Philippine ships have been embroiled in a series of confrontations in the contested seaway in recent months."

Belligerent and adversarial encounters over fly-speck islands the South China Sea. Second Thomas Shoal.

See also here warplanes as under consideration for purchase by the Filipino. Air power of the latest type on-call if necessary.

coolbert.