SUMMARY

Have you had a peaceful weekend or were you just as confused about which supposed deal had been struck between Manila and Beijing – and over which shoal? 

As more than 16,000 Filipino and American troops wrap up their “most ambitious, complicated” war games in the Philippines this week, China has also been accelerating its media play, breaking out of the shadows of “unnamed” foreign sources and now officially claiming that the Philippine government had agreed to supposed deals on how to manage tensions in the West Philippine Sea. 

The back-to-back official statements came weeks after anonymous China sources had told select Filipino journalists about an alleged “understanding” between both sides to stay away from Ayungin Shoal, where the Philippine outpost, BRP Sierra Madre, is…

Source:https://www.rappler.com/voices/newsletters/war-games-west-philippine-sea/