Philippine military hoax message resurfaces after South China Sea standoff

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

Chinese coast guards armed with knives, sticks and an ax foiled the Philippine Navy’s attempt to resupply marines stationed on an abandoned warship that sits atop the Second Thomas Shoal.

It is the latest and most serious incident in a series of escalating clashes between China and the Philippines in recent months, as Beijing has stepped up efforts to assert its claims to nearly the entire strategically located waterway.

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 on Facebook 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 had been circulating online for at least July 2016 for example here, here and here.

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

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

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

Col.

“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 increase this level during elections, rebel attacks, and natural disasters (archived links here, here, and here).

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) separately declared to AFP As of June 26, no current or retired archbishop in the country was named “Martinez.”

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

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