The latest insult to Philippine territorial sovereignty happened when a Chinese Coast Guard vessel directed a laser beam at a Philippine Coast Guard vessel taking supplies to our soldiers stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.
“The recent use by (the Chinese Coast Guard) of lasers that temporarily blinded (Philippine Coast Guard) personnel constitutes an armed attack on a Philippine public vessel. The Philippines can thus invoke the MDT,” said retired Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio Carpio.
No doubt it was an insult, something that should not have been done. It is something worth bringing up with Xi Jinping again, despite his deaf ears. But to declare it was an armed attack? To invoke the terms of our Mutual Defense Treaty with the US? Let’s not go overboard here.
While it is true that laser beams are used to direct missiles and even smart bombs to strike a specified target, lasers can also be used to gauge the speed and direction of a moving object, which was what the Chinese Coast Guard claim they were doing when they directed the laser beam in the way of the Philippine Coast Guard vessel.
Far be it from trusting anything the Chinese Coast Guard says, we would rather give them the benefit of the doubt, because the other possibility --that they lased the Philippine Coast Guard vessel to guide a missile or a smart bomb its way-- is just too terrifying to think about.
By terrifying we mean not just the act that will cause destruction and death, of course, but the resulting conflict that is sure to follow such an act. What with the US and China just looking for any excuse to go at each other’s throats
We are not in a hurry to go to war with China. We have no illusions that we will be victorious, or that such a conflict will not spread or trigger other forms of conflict in this part of the world.
While it may not have been an armed attack, this shouldn’t stop us from responding in kind. Buy up all sources of laser lights we can get our hands on. Turn the next excursion of our Coast Guard there into a light show.