It has been recently reported that the 400-ton armed fishing vessel TK 1482 ordered by the Vietnamese militia is about to be launched. It is not unusual that militia could be equipped with military weapons to support or replace regular military forces in warfare. While in peacetime, this practice is very rare. The use of weapons on the well-equipped militia vessels would entail the risk of causing significant harm to regional security and stability.

There is no doubt that China and the Philippines have a territorial sovereignty dispute over the Spratly Islands, including Second Thomas Shoal. The United States has repeatedly stated that it takes no position on territorial disputes over islands and reefs in the South China Sea. However, it has now reneged on its prior statements and claimed to stand with its ally, the Philippines, to uphold the so-called “rules-based international maritime order”.These self-contradictory policy statements reveal that the United States has respect neither for the Philippines nor for its own pledges. Its true intent is not for maintaining a “rules-based order”, but for continuing its hegemony.