Philippines says China ship used laser against coast guard

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JIM GOMEZ 9 minutes ago

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines on Monday accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea, calling it a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights.

The Chinese ship also maneuvered dangerously close, about 137 meters (449 feet), to block the Philippine patrol vessel BRP Malapascua from approaching Second Thomas Shoal, a submerged reef that has been occupied by Philippine forces, on Feb. 6, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement.

The Philippines has filed nearly 200 diplomatic protests against China’s aggressive actions in the disputed waters in 2022 alone.

China claims the South China Sea virtually in its entirety, putting it on a collision course with other claimants. Despite friendly overtures to Beijing by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in January in Beijing, tensions have persisted, drawing in closer military alliance between the Philippines and the U.S.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/politics-philippines-government-manila-china-8ee5459dcac872b14a49c4a428029259?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_08

[dalton99a]

1. And China wonders why the world hates them

Land grabbing bullies and thieves

[Alexander Of Assyria]

2. USA has a bit of a history of land grabbing and even human grabbing, yes?

What land is China grabbing lately? What stealing, other than Walmart Shoppers money, although they get a product for the dough?

The anti China sentiment is nonsense, ginned up by a media and military not liking money going to People.

[dalton99a]

3. America had slavery, therefore we have no right to condemn slavery?

[Demsrule86]

11. Why are you here?

China is a repressive dictatorship and what they did was an act of war.

[AZLD4Candidate]

20. When you live in China like I do, you'll realize how insane what you are saying sounds

Stop defending the indefensible. The CCP is horrific.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

22. So military admits the 3 last objects were commercial.

[AZLD4Candidate]

24. I don't do Chinese propaganda.

But if you trust and believe everything the CCP says and does, please proceed.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

25. Ofc not, but the military and media does...a lot.

[Torchlight]

26. It does not follow.

Administration simply did not rule out the possibility they were commercial, which is far, far removed from the assertion that they are in fact, commercial.

[EX500rider]

21. "What land is China grabbing lately? "

Do you mean beside the islands they are stealing in the South China Sea from the Philippines, particularly in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, where it has twenty seven outposts?

Or the ones they are trying to take from Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam?

Or do you mean besides the land they are trying to steal from India in Arunachal Pradesh?

Or maybe you didn't mean the Senkaku Islands they are trying to steal from Japan?

[Eliot Rosewater]

27. Outstanding, informed response to a propaganda post above, one supposes we have a

Chinese agent here.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

29. They don't pay well and the currency is hard to convert, so it's a shitty job for anyone, I suppose.

[EX500rider]

30. 2 yuan

China is where it all began; the idea of quietly paying Internet users a small fee to post pro-government (or company) responses on message boards where some company or the government is being criticized or maligned.
For some members of the original Chinese "50 Cent Party" it was a full-time job, receiving up to 50 cents (two yuan) each for up to a hundred pro-government messages posted a day, using several dozen different accounts. But most of the posters were volunteers or just did it to earn a little extra money.
If you could post in foreign languages, especially colloquial English, you made more. Very few members of the "50 Cent Army" (as the mercenary posters were also known) made lots of money and most were reviled by their online peers as a bunch of loathsome trolls (those who leave messages to annoy rather than inform or amuse).

[Alexander Of Assyria]

31. Paid in euros now, thanks for the info.

Posted, to amuse!

[Alexander Of Assyria]

4. All these nations sparring over land and water and resources and killing each other

to get them…I do hope the balloons are alien surveillance craft, soon be here to clean up this damn mess.

Sovereignty! It’s my sandbox! You can’t play or…I kill you and everyone else in your sandbox! Women, children, don’t matter! Bombs away!

Earth creatures never grew up as hoped.

Do American people hate Chinese people, and vice versa? No, it’s the governments and the military trying to make us hate each other so they can go to war. Same goes just before any war.

Keep the People out of your death cult. Stop glorification of war machines and war men.

[IronLionZion]

5. So China likes to mess with other countries like the Russians do?

Harassing other countries has not worked out well for Russia either.

Russia would mess with navigation systems of US Navy ships in the Pacific and harass US soldiers in Afghanistan and Syria. And they would hold military exercises in Irish fishing waters. After that they invaded Ukraine.

So maybe China thinks harassing the world is a good idea before they invade Taiwan?

Maybe Asia needs it's own form of NATO to defend against China.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

6. Harassing the world? How so? Pouring billions of dollars into underdeveloped countries,

not harrassment!

[IronLionZion]

7. OP is about them messing with the Filipino Coast Guard

and they've sent spy balloons over 40 countries. They threaten Taiwan on a regular basis.

[ColinC]

10. Curious why you feel the need to defend an authoritarian regime known for concentration camps,

Harvesting organs, social credits, heightened facial recognition infrastructure to track the populous,oppression to Tibetans, increased threats of invading Taiwan,laissez faire unregulated capitalism and mass poverty?

[oldsoftie]

12. Its SOP for some reason whenever the topic is Communist China.

[ColinC]

15. That government is as evil as they get. I don't care how left leaning somebody is

[AZLD4Candidate]

18. They put those countries into debt traps. Sorry, you're wrong and I live in China

you are completely wrong. The CCP does nothing under Emperor Xi the Flawless unless they can get something out of it.

Altruism is not in the culture of the CCP.

[catsudon]

8. it's easy to wake up every morning

and read about what bad thing is China doing today.

sure you can utilize whataboutism with USA pulling some atrocities like slavery in the middle of 1800's....

china went ahead and tell us "hold my baijiu" doing the same to Uyghur, Tibetans, and hk. And let's not forget racism against African people. not only are they openly racist against blacks in China, there is even cases of Chinse factory owner whipping Africans in Africa.

[flying_wahini]

9. If a China doesn't want any shit they shouldn't start any shit. China has EARNED its reputation.

The ‘what aboutism’ is decisive on this particular thread. I believe that China has no business using lasers or any other weapons to block access to a sea. Their use of lasers sounds more like
they have developed this and want to test it out on a smaller skirmish and with
easily arguable points so they can justify the use of lasers.


China has been itching for a fight and will do anything it damn well wants to.
China is not our friend and people here shouldn’t forget that point.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

23. Turns out last 3 balloons might have been Goodyear blimps? Lol

[oldsoftie]

13. Get mfg. OUT of china! Stop sending them our money to use against us & Asia

They'd be powerless without our massive infusion of cash. And the EU isn't far behind either.

[red dog 1]

28. + 1

We send money to China for solar panels that should be manufactured here!

[IronLionZion]

16. We should buy less Chinese made stuff

sure it's cheap, but we pay for it in other ways.

[banlesh]

17. China seems emboldened

What's up with them?

[AZLD4Candidate]

19. The country is falling apart until Winnie the Flu and all of this is a distraction to whip up

nationalism and xenophobia.

Sadly for the CCP, it isn't working. The people realize that the CCP isn't working for them and few, except the hardcore, are listening.