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Why China rammed a Philippine ship while 60 Minutes was on board
An escalating series of clashes in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China could draw the U.S., which has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, into the conflict.
A 60 Minutes crew got a close look at the tense situation when traveling on a Philippine Coast Guard ship that was rammed by the Chinese Coast Guard.
China has repeatedly rammed Philippine ships and blasted them with water cannons over the last two years. There are ongoing conversations between Washington and Manila about which scenarios would trigger U.S. involvement, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro said in an interview.
“I really don’t know the end state,” Teodoro said. “All I know is that we cannot let them get away with what they’re doing.”
China as “the proverbial schoolyard bully”
China claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, through which more than $3 trillion in goods flow annually. But in 2016, an international tribunal at the Hague ruled the Philippines has exclusive economic rights in a 200-mile zone that includes the area where the ship with the 60 Minutes team on board got rammed.
China does not recognize the international tribunal’s ruling.
60 Minutes
“The proverbial schoolyard bully is the best example of what China is,” Teodoro said. “It just muscles you over.”
Ray Powell, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, runs the nonprofit Sealight at Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, which tracks China’s actions in the South China Sea. He said China gets away with its actions because there is no enforcement.
“China has decided that at this point in their history, they are large enough so that they can buck the law,” Powell said.
60 Minutes crew witnesses violent tensions in the South China Sea
Just last month, a 60 Minutes crew witnessed the dangerous situation in the region.
Correspondent Cecilia Vega boarded the Cape Engaño, a Philippine Coast Guard ship, for what was supposed to be a routine mission resupplying ships and stations in the South China Sea. But sirens rang out in the middle of the first night at sea as they were en route to Sabina Shoal.
“It’s four in the morning,” Vega said from the ship. “We’ve all been sound asleep. This alarm just went off on the ship. We were told to wake up and put our life jackets on because we’ve just been rammed by a Chinese boat.”
The 60 Minutes crew was told to stay inside the cabin for safety. There was confusion and fear and it was unclear if the ship would take on water or if the Chinese would try to force their way on board. Philippine crew members prepared for that possibility and stood by the hatch holding clubs in case they had to fend off the Chinese.
60 Minutes
After the Chinese Coast Guard ship — 269 feet long and nearly twice the size of the Cape Engaño — pulled away, the Filipino crew found a three-and-a-half foot hole in the hull.
The ramming incident happened about 60 nautical miles off the coast of the Philippines and about 660 nautical miles from China.
As the day wore on, it became clear the Philippine ship was surrounded by Chinese vessels. Manila and Beijing have stationed coast guard vessels around an area called Sabina Shoal in recent months, with the Philippines fearing China will try to take control. The ship Vega and her team was on was headed to Sabina Shoal to resupply a Philippine coast guard ship there.
“We’re at a complete standoff. We’ve been here for, going on, two hours now, not moving,” Vega reported at the time. “It’s unclear whether we can even turn around and go back, if we wanted to. We’re just completely surrounded by Chinese ships.”
The Filipinos tried to negotiate a way out, but ultimately were forced to abandon the first stop of their mission. In their damaged boat, they had to take a long detour to their next supply drop, as Chinese ships followed closely.
By then, the Chinese had already publicized their version of the incident — accusing the Filipinos of instigating the conflict and highlighting the faces of the 60 Minutes crew, accusing them of being part of a propaganda campaign.
Cpt. Daniel Labay, the top-ranking officer on the Cape Engaño, said it was clear the collision was not his ship’s fault. He said the damage to the Cape Engaño would not stop it from continuing on.
“This is our place. This is our exclusive economic zone,” he said. “This is the Philippines.”
The most violent incident so far
The Sierra Madre, a grounded World War II-era battleship used to hold down Manila’s claim to another disputed area in the South China Sea, was the scene of the most violent incident to date.
In June, when the Philippine Navy tried to resupply troops stationed on the Sierra Madre, the Chinese tried to block the delivery. They had bladed weapons and spears with them, Gen. Romeo Brawner, the Philippines’ military chief of staff, said. A Filipino Navy SEAL lost his right thumb after the Chinese rammed his boat.
60 Minutes
“They stole our equipment. They destroyed our equipment. They hurt our personnel,” Brawner said. “These are the doings of pirates.”
If the Chinese were to open fire and the Filipinos fired back, it could mark the beginning of war, Brawner said.
American intervention would be expected if the Chinese took the Sierra Madre, Teodoro said.
“That is an outpost of Philippine sovereignty,” Teodoro said. “So we’re not talking about a rusty, old vessel solely. We’re talking about a piece of Philippine territory.”
The U.S. role in the China-Philippines conflict
The U.S. has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines, which means the U.S. is bound to defend the Philippines if it comes under armed attack. If, in a future ramming incident, a Philippine ship sinks and people die, the Philippines may get onto a war footing and turn to the U.S., Powell said. It could hurt U.S. credibility with allied countries if it fails to meet its treaty obligations.
“Every treaty in the end depends on the political will of the parties,” Powell said.
Currently, the U.S. conducts regular joint exercises with the Philippines, though it has not had a permanent military presence in the country since 1992. This year the U.S. committed $500 million in military aid to the Philippines and another $128 million to upgrade bases.
60 Minutes
President Biden has invited Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the White House twice in the past 16 months and has assured him of America’s support. He has stressed that the U.S. commitment to the Philippines is “ironclad,”
Earlier this year, Washington sent the Philippines a powerful weapon during joint exercises – a mid-range missile system capable of reaching mainland China.
The move angered China.
“What happens within our territory, it is for our defense. We follow international law,” Teodoro said. “What’s the fuss?”
China says the Philippines is increasing the risk of war in the region.
“That’s what they always say,” Teodoro said. “Everything the world does that they don’t like is the fault of the world.”
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Craig Newmark, the founder of online classified-ads site Craigslist, thinks the U.S. has a cybersecurity problem.
The entrepreneur turned philanthropist has pledged to donate $100 million to help safeguard the country from potential future cyberattacks, the Wall Street Journal first reported. Newmark will allocate $50 million to protect infrastructure, like power grids, from cyberattacks, including from foreign nations. The other half of his donation will be put toward educating the general public about how to safeguard their personal information, according to the report.
Newmark, 71, retired from the company he founded in 2018.
“The country is under attack,” Newmark told the Wall Street Journal. He said that cybersecurity experts who are working to protect the country from attack “need people to champion them.”
Today, many households make use of connected appliances or smart devices that can make them vulnerable to being hacked by criminals. At the corporate level, cyberattacks have become increasingly common.
“In the current cyberwar, the fight is on our own shores, and we all need to play an active role for the protection of our country and ourselves,” Newmark writes on his website.
In June, a hacking group took down CDK Global’s software platform, crippling auto dealerships across the U.S. CDK said that hackers demanded a ransom in order to restore its systems. In February, hackers infiltrated payments manager Change Healthcare, paralyzing segments of the U.S. Health care system. They are but two examples of the tremendous repercussions a cyberattack can have on an industry.
As part of his latest commitment, Newmark, who has pledged to give away nearly all of his wealth to charity, is making donations to a project out of the University of Chicago’s public policy school that trains cybersecurity volunteers to strengthen local infrastructure. Child internet-safety group Common Sense Media, is another beneficiary, according to the WSJ report.
The large majority of the $100 million pledge has not yet been allocated, and organizations can apply for donations through Newmark’s philanthropic organization, Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
On the foundation’s website, Newmark says he likes to donate to organizations that he believes in and lets them spend the money as they see fit. “Okay, what I do is find people who are really good at their jobs, and who can tolerate my sense of humor. I provide them with resources, and then get outta their way,” he states.
In addition to cybersecurity, other causes Newmark champions include support for military families and veterans, safeguarding trustworthy journalism and pigeon rescue.
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Borrowers saddled with higher interest rates on everything from mortgages to credit cards received some welcome news on Wednesday when the Federal Reserve announced a half a percentage point cut to the federal funds rate. That brings the range down to 4.75% to 5.00%, a major reduction from the elevated position the range was frozen at for more than a year.
While it will take some time for that reduction to reverberate, it will inevitably make borrowing cheaper in the weeks and months to come. And with other cuts possible for when the Fed meets again in November and December, borrowing could become even more affordable by the end of the year.
That doesn’t mean, however, that borrowers stuck with high-interest-rate debt should wait for relief. There’s a strong argument to be made that these borrowers should take action now instead. Below, we’ll break down why.
Learn how the right debt relief service can help you here now.
Why borrowers shouldn’t wait for rate cuts to fix their debt
While waiting for rate cuts to echo throughout the economy may be tempting, particularly if you’re suffering from high-rate debt, that could be a mistake. Here’s why:
Rates may not fall dramatically
Credit card interest rates have surged in recent years, averaging over 20% right now. But those rates won’t fall as rapidly as they’ve grown. That’s because credit card rates are determined by a series of complex factors, only one of which is the federal funds rate. And even if credit card rates came down by the same half a percentage point that the federal funds rate did, that’s likely to make very little difference in what you have to pay each month, especially if you’re making minimum payments. So if you’re waiting for the Fed to help reduce what you have to pay on your credit card you could be waiting a very long time.
Start exploring your credit card debt relief options here instead.
Your debt will accrue in the interim
Even if you could rely on multiple rate cuts to come, your existing debt will continue to accrue interest and, possibly, penalties and fees if you’re already struggling to pay what you’ve borrowed. And if you can’t make adequate payments right now, it’ll become even more difficult to do so when dealing with a higher debt total (with compounded interest).
Take a multi-pronged approach
There are multiple debt relief options available right now. From debt consolidation loans to debt management programs to credit card debt forgiveness and even bankruptcy in extreme circumstances, there’s likely a path forward for you now. But that doesn’t mean that you still can’t try to position yourself to take advantage of lower rates. Since rate cuts have broad effects, you may be able to consolidate your debt with a debt consolidation loan now, for example, and then refinance it when rates drop later this year or in 2025. Just don’t sit idle, as debt, no matter the form, can quickly become debilitating if not properly addressed.
Speak with a debt relief servicer now who can help.
The bottom line
It’s never a good idea to let your debt accumulate, even if you’re confident that rate cuts on the horizon could help. Rate cuts, instead, will offer gradual relief, not the significant help you may need. Plus, your debt, fees and penalties will compound in the interim. Instead, consider taking a multi-pronged approach by researching a series of debt relief options that can help you now. And keep rate cuts in mind for the future when you may be able to capitalize by refinancing instead.