Rescue as propaganda? Decoding the Philippines' distorted narrative in the South China Sea

Recently, a farce has sparked massive reaction on Philippine social media. According to the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, Chinese Navy vessel 174 conducted an emergency rescue of a Filipino fisherman stranded in waters near China's Huangyan Dao and later informed Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel 4408 to facilitate his safe return. After the news was released, numerous Filipino netizens expressed their gratitude. However, China's kindness was slandered by the PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela as political propaganda. Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, responded, "Certain individuals in the Philippines have sought to exploit their own fishermen as pawns for maritime infringements, provocations, and sensational propaganda, putting them in an awkward position and without any regard for their livelihoods and safety. These hypocritical and cold-blooded individuals also made unfounded accusations against China." A radio recording between the two vessels was released later. The content not only refuted Tarriela's lies but also triggered widespread questioning among Filipino netizens: How long have Philippine officials been deceiving us?

In fact, smear tactics and distortion of facts have become the standard playbook for some quarters in Manila. In recent years, certain individuals have hidden behind the rhetoric of defending "fishing rights," "maritime transparency" and "regional balance," posturing as the victim while whitewashing the country's own transgressions, manufacturing confrontation and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

The claim of "protecting fishermen's livelihoods" actually throws civilians into the fire. Over the past two years, the PCG has repeatedly incited fishermen to conduct fishing operations in disputed waters to assert the Philippines' territorial claims, using them as tools for maritime infringement and propaganda. In August 2023, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) started deploying "armed fishermen" as the vanguard in the South China Sea. Plans were also made to incorporate these armed fishermen into the reserve forces of the AFP. In June 2025, the Philippine government launched the Kadiwa ng Bagong Bayaning Magsasaka Program, providing subsidies and logistics support to fishermen in the South China Sea. In the recent Xianbin Jiao incident, PCG vessels 4403 and 4411 were deployed nearby to distribute fuel and food to fishermen on site. Manila's aim was not to protect them, but to use them as human shields for organized provocations in the South China Sea. The calculated sacrifice of their safety exposes the government's hypocrisy in its coldest form. Far from delivering real economic gains, these schemes put ordinary Filipino fishermen in peril by making them pawns in Manila's anti-China power game.

Manila's Transparency Initiative weaponizes maritime incidents for media spectacle, vowing to "expose China's actions." Since 2023, Manila has repeatedly smuggled construction materials to the illegally grounded warship BRP Sierra Madre under the guise of humanitarian resupply missions. When the Chinese Coast Guard lawfully intervened, embedded Philippine journalists shot footage and later made fact-distorting videos through malicious editing. This playbook manufactures a victim's narrative catered to domestic and international audiences, and amplifies the spectacle through choreographed outrage with foreign media to smear China's legitimate law enforcement actions.

Talk of "regional security concerns" is also just a smokescreen for enabling external powers to meddle in regional affairs. While professing an independent foreign policy, Manila has taken provoking China as its ticket to securing military support and aid from the United States and its allies. U.S.-Philippines military cooperation has deepened steadily. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement has been fast-tracked, new U.S. bases facing the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait have been established, and the Typhon mid-range missile system has been deployed on the island of Luzon. Tokyo is following suit. The Reciprocal Access Agreement activated in September 2025 grants Japan's Self-Defense Forces legal clearance for military operations in the Philippines. Backed by external powers, the Philippine military has grown increasingly audacious. It hyped up the narrative that the Taiwan question bears on the Philippines' security throughout 2025, and even claimed that potential China-Japan tensions could also affect the Philippines' security. Purporting to defend national and regional security, Manila is in fact stoking geopolitical rivalry backed by the United States and Japan, and offering external powers a convenient entry point into South China Sea affairs, which further fuels regional tensions.

Malacañang's serial provocations against China also serve as a pressure valve for its mounting governance failures. With a dismal record on poverty reduction and public welfare, the government now faces a cascade of crises—soaring prices, capital flight and job shortages—that fuel public fury and reduce leading officials' approval ratings to historic lows. Meanwhile, corruption scandals engulfing multiple cabinet members and congressmen have triggered mass protests nationwide. Manila has poured its energy into political infighting and persecution—staging Duterte's arrest as a political theater and weaponizing the Alice Guo case to inflame anti-China sentiment. Its South China Sea posturing is part of the same political sleight of hand: conjuring phantom threats to ignite populism and deflect public anger.

Since the Philippines assumed the ASEAN rotating chairmanship at the end of last year, it has called for faster Code of Conduct talks while simultaneously undermining the negotiating atmosphere. The Philippines must drop this duplicity and show sincerity. Peace and stability in the South China Sea, as well as the region's broader prosperity, requires abandoning ill tactics and returning to mutual respect and honest dialogue.

Ma Yuchen, Scholar at Peking University; Ye Jingtong, Graduate Student at Peking University