ARS Counselor Emmanuel Bautista Weighs In On The Impact Of China's 'Gray Zone' War On The Philippine

According to resident ARS Counselor Emmanuel Bautista in a recent forum organized by the National Youth Movement for the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines is undergoing war, but not the conventional kind determined by arms, kinetic military, and direct confrontations and clashes.

Instead, the Philippines is under a 'gray zone' war with China where the status quo of peace is challenged under peacetime scenarios. Gray zone wars are fought without the use of direct force. Instead, these are fought along economic, informational, and technological lines.

Gray zone tactics are sufficiently calibrated to achieve military results without openly escalating confrontations. These tactics have been evident throughout Philippine waters where Chinese incursions (and clashes) are noted, the most recent being the 2019 Reed Bank incident between Filipino fisherfolk of F/B Gem-Ver and Chinese vessel Yuemaobinyu 42212.

Retired Gen. Bautista cautions Filipinos to be wary and vigilant of these small economic, informational, and technological nuances, whether transpiring within or outside Philippine soil.

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