Philippines’ plan for maritime militia to match China raises fears of ‘shooting war’

Force proposed by military officials would be made up of fishermen and organised into seaborne militia units

Fishermen’s group warns about being used as ‘cannon fodder’ against China as others see danger of piracy

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An activist holds a banner during a protest in Manila against the sinking of a Philippine fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in June 2019. Philippine military officials have raised the possibility of forming a seaborne militia. Photo: EPA

Published: 9:00am, 16 Oct 2020Updated: 9:00am, 16 Oct 2020

With tensions running high in the disputed South China Sea, the announcement that the Philippines is considering raising and deploying maritime militia to counter China’s presence in the area could increase the risk of war, according to former senator Antonio Trillanes.

Trillanes, who served in the Philippine navy, told This Week in Asia that “a maritime militia would only create more problems than it intended to solve”, foremost among them being an inability to control the force, leading to an increased “probability of miscalculations, which could trigger a shooting war”.

He was reacting to statements by Philippine defence officials, who said during a Senate finance committee hearing on Monday that they were studying a plan to recruit fishermen and organise them into seaborne militia units similar to those used by China.

Chinese maritime militia forces known as “little blue men”, which are ostensibly civilian but are known to be drawn from military ranks, notoriously use swarms of fishing vessels and merchant ships to perform the tasks of military forces in the South China Sea.

Antonio Trillanes has warned about the possibility of “miscalculations” if the Philippines organises fishermen into a militia. Photo: AP

They patrol waters, stake out claims and surround and harass foreign ships seen as “intruding” in waters China claims as its own. Reports say the maritime militia ships that conduct this type of “hybrid warfare” are built with special internal reinforcements so they can ram into other boats or ships.

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