China’s communist rulers are taking advantage of global pandemic for military and political ends. As 210 countries stagger from nearly three million infectees and 200,000 deaths, Beijing is tightening military grip on the South China Sea. A Chinese grab of Malampaya would plunge Luzon in darkness at a time when its economy is reeling from COVID-19 pandemic. Beijing ignored calls to not exploit world distraction by pandemic to sow tension. Former foreign secretary Albert del Rosario remarked that Beijing is “relentlessly exploiting the pandemic to pursue its illegal and expansive claims.” Manila protested the PLA act.

Source: Philippine Star April 28, 2020 15:56 UTC