Fake Philippine military message resurfaces after South China Sea clash

“Let’s pray that this doesn’t happen,” read a Tagalog post shared on Facebook on June 23, 2024.

It included a screenshot appearing to show a Facebook Messenger conversation that read in part: “The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is currently on red alert due to China’s anger.”

He added that war materials from France, the United States and Japan were arriving at the Clark military base, north of Manila, to help the Philippines in the event of war.

The message was allegedly sent by “Archbishop Martinez” based on information from “General David”.

The post surfaced after a violent clash between Filipino and Chinese sailors in the South China Sea on June 17.

Chinese Coast Guard personnel wielding knives, sticks and an axe foiled an attempt by the Philippine Navy to resupply marines stationed on an abandoned warship atop Second Thomas Shoal.

It is the latest and most serious incident in a series of escalating confrontations between China and the Philippines in recent months, as Beijing has stepped up efforts to assert its claims to almost all of it. strategically located navigable.

President Ferdinand Marcos said on June 23 that the country would not resort to war to resolve the dispute (archived link).

Many social media users appear to have believed the message that was circulating, which was also shared on TikTok and elsewhere here, here and here.

“Warning of possible war between China and the Philippines,” one commented.

“Red Alert / Code Red. Let’s be ready for our country’s war,” wrote another.

“Old and fake”

Keyword searches on Facebook, however, showed that the same message was circulating online from, for example, here, here and here.

At the time, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled that China’s vast claims to the South China Sea had no legal basis.

China ignored the ruling, saying the U.N.-backed tribunal had no jurisdiction over the case.

The message resurfaced in 2021 and was denied by the Philippine military at the time, according to a report in the Manila Bulletin newspaper (archived link).

Colonel Xerxes Trinidad, chief of public affairs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, told AFP on June 25, 2024 that the message circulating was “old and false”.

“The army is not currently on red alert,” he said.

A red alert would mean that all troops in a given area are ready to deploy at any time, according to the official Philippine News Agency (archived link).

The Philippine Armed Forces typically raise this level during elections, rebel attacks, and natural disasters (archived links here, here, and here).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) separately said on June 26 that no current or retired archbishop in the country had been named “Martinez.”

The CBCP’s list of current and retired bishops also does not mention any archbishop with the name “Martinez” (archived link).

The AFP has repeatedly denied false information circulating around tensions in the South China Sea.