A CHINESE general gave a preview way back in 2013 of how their
People’s Liberation Army deploys a swarm of vessels around disputed
islands in the South China Sea in what he called a “cabbage strategy” to
take full control.
We were then surprised that the Chinese swarming of Pagasa island off
Palawan was initially dismissed by President Duterte’s spokesman as if
it were something as innocent as cruising around the block to look for a
parking slot. We dug up old Postscripts on that cabbage strategy.
It was probably by force of habit of defending China that the
President’s spokesman minimized the swarming – confirmed by the military
and independent observers – by hundreds of militia boats around Pagasa,
the main island in the cluster of isles comprising the town of Kalayaan
in Palawan.
It was a good thing President Duterte, in a departure from his known
pro-China bias – stepped in and warned Beijing to lay off Pagasa where
there is a thriving Filipino community and a functioning municipal
government.
Federico Pascual writes. Maybe too little, too late?
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